Bengaluru holds 34% of India's forward-deployed engineering talent, Hyderabad emerges as key hub

Talent distribution across cities

Bengaluru leads India’s forward-deployed engineering (FDE) talent landscape, accounting for 34% of the national pool, according to the report by FDE Academy. Hyderabad follows with 14%, while Delhi-NCR holds 13%. Pune (12%), Mumbai (11%), and Chennai (8%) make up the next tier, with smaller shares distributed across other cities.

The top three cities—Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Delhi-NCR—collectively represent 61% of India’s FDE talent. This concentration underscores the dominance of these hubs in attracting and retaining engineering professionals focused on implementation, problem-solving, and cross-functional roles.

Hyderabad’s growing role

Hyderabad is emerging as a key hub for FDE talent, driven by expanding enterprise technology investments, a rising number of AI-led roles, and a strengthening talent ecosystem. The report positions the city as a competitive alternative to Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR for companies seeking engineering talent.

Industry employment trends

Big Tech companies employ the largest share of FDE professionals, accounting for 38% of the talent pool. Product companies, IT services, and consulting firms each employ 24% of these professionals, while AI-first startups make up 14%.

The report also notes that 70% of FDE professionals have eight years of experience or less, indicating a workforce skewed toward mid-career and early-career engineers.

What this means

Lazyfounder analysis — our interpretation, not reported fact.

For founders and operators, this report signals where engineering talent is concentrated and where competition for hiring is most intense. Bengaluru’s dominance is no surprise, but Hyderabad’s rise as a secondary hub could offer cost and talent advantages for startups and enterprises looking to expand teams. The skew toward Big Tech and product companies also suggests that AI-first startups may face stiffer competition for FDE talent, particularly in cities where demand outstrips supply. For investors, the data reinforces the importance of location in assessing startup scalability, especially in sectors like AI and enterprise technology where on-the-ground execution matters.

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