IITs' push to broaden job profiles pays dividends with diverse offers

Hedge funds and trading firms outpace start-ups in placement drives

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are witnessing a surge of interest from hedge funds, proprietary and algorithmic trading firms, and investment companies during the initial days of their placement drives, which began on December 1. Students are getting offers ranging from ₹90 lakh to ₹3 crore, according to people aware of the matter.

 

This comes after several IITs have been pushing for a diversification of job profiles as roles move beyond just tech companies and start-ups, particularly with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI). For instance, IIT Roorkee received recruitment offers from hedge fund company DE Shaw and trading firms such as Da Vinci Derivatives, NK Securities Research, and Rubrik during its first interview slot. Notable recruiters in this phase included Amazon, American Express, chipmaker Nvidia, Qualcomm, AI data platform Databricks, Eternal (Zomato), Flipkart, and Google, among others. Apart from tech companies, the institutes are receiving offers from proprietary and algorithmic and investment firms like Squarepoint Capital. In the first two days of its placement drive, the institute has cumulatively secured 555 offers, including pre-placement offers (PPOs) and at least eight international offers.

 

IIT Kanpur also received 672 job offers on the first day of its placement drive, marking its highest day 1 tally to date. Notably,  nine students secured overseas offers. “This represents a 16 per cent increase over last year’s day 1 placements, highlighting IIT Kanpur’s growing industry appeal and the strong demand for its graduates. With some results still pending, the count is expected to rise further,” the institute said. 

 

A similar trend has been seen in other legacy IITs, including IIT Delhi, IIT Mumbai, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, and Varanasi (IIT-BHU). “More companies, including core and startups, are participating this year. All of them have expressed interest in hiring a significant number of students,” sources in IIT Madras noted. People in the know said that salary packages being offered could reach up to ₹3 crore; however, the IITs declined to confirm the salary offers. 

 

IIT Roorkee said it had collaborated strategically with an extensive and diverse pool of leading organisations across multiple sectors, ensuring a comprehensive and well-rounded placement ecosystem. “With a special emphasis on artificial intelligence, data analytics, semiconductor technology, sustainability and core engineering domains, the institute continues to align its efforts with the evolving industry landscape,” it added. Other legacy IITs did not respond to mail requests from Business Standard till the time of going to print.