Explorex Targets India's Restaurant Operating System as Seed-Stage Hiring Expands
Explorex is building software infrastructure for India's food service sector, pitching an all-in-one operating platform to replace the disconnected point-of-sale, billing, and ordering systems commonly used by restaurant operators. Founded in 2020 and backed by Y Combinator's Summer 2020 cohort, the Bengaluru-based startup describes its target market as the more than 30 million restaurants across India, aiming to deliver what it terms the "Toast for India."
The company’s flagship product, Bridge, unifies front-of-house and back-of-house functions into a single system. It combines QR code digital menus, mobile and desktop point of sale (POS/mPOS), vendor and inventory tracking, integrated payment collection, delivery aggregator integrations, and diner analytics. According to the company's technical architecture, the platform is built on the Java Spring Framework, Angular, MongoDB, Solr, and the XMPP protocol.
Founders and Background
Explorex was started by Mainak Sarkar, who serves as Chief Executive Officer, and Pritam Khan. Both founders graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. Khan previously worked as an engineer at LinkedIn, while Sarkar focuses on user experience and product architecture.
Before founding Explorex in 2020, the duo operated Eatable, a dining-experience platform that closed during the pandemic. In an interview with digital terminal, Sarkar explained that the earlier venture gave them direct exposure to the operational friction restaurant owners face when managing five to six unintegrated systems. Speaking to ET HospitalityWorld, Sarkar categorized Explorex as a compound startup rather than a standalone point-of-sale tool: "We are like Amazon. We are not just a tool, but a complete enabler to run your business."
Growth and Backing
Explorex has raised $6.1 million in funding. Investors include Y Combinator, Pioneer Fund, z21 Ventures, and individual angel investors such as Twitch cofounder Kevin Lin and Fitbit CEO James Park.
As reported by Inc42, the company secured a $5 million seed round led by Taher Savliwala to scale product development and expand beyond Bengaluru into metropolitan areas like Delhi and Mumbai. The founders were also recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list for Enterprise Technology.
To guide its regional commercial push, Explorex brought on Suneet Kulkarni as Vice President of Business & Growth, as reported by digital terminal. Kulkarni previously co-founded Torqus and served as Chief Operating Officer of InResto following its acquisition by Dineout.
Hiring Priorities
With an employee count listed at 18, Explorex is currently recruiting for 11 open positions across engineering, product, design, and commercial operations. Every open position is an onsite role.
The technical team is hiring for infrastructure and interface layers. Core backend operations are recruiting for a Backend Engineer II+ and a Dev-Ops Engineer, while web application development is supported by openings for a Front End Engineer Lead and a Front End Engineer.
On the operational side, the startup is hiring a Founders Office (CEO's Office) - Product Manager to sit close to executive leadership in Bengaluru, along with a regional Sales Executive covering western hubs in Mumbai and Pune. Compensation structures span Indian Rupee and US Dollar denominations depending on the technical track and seniority level.
Open Roles at Explorex
| Role | Location | Work Mode | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front End Engineer Lead | Bangalore | Onsite | $10,000 – $20,000 / year |
| Backend Engineer II+ | Bangalore | Onsite | $30,000 – $60,000 / year |
| Front End Engineer | Bangalore | Onsite | $10,000 – $20,000 / year |
| Dev-Ops Engineer | Bengaluru, KA, IN | Onsite | ₹3,000,000 – ₹3,500,000 / year |
| UI/UX Designer | Bengaluru, KA, IN | Onsite | $8,000 – $12,000 / year |
| Founders Office (CEO's Office) - Product Manager | Bengaluru, KA, IN | Onsite | ₹1,200,000 – ₹1,500,000 / year |
| Data Analyst | Bengaluru, KA, IN | Onsite | ₹600,000 – ₹1,500,000 / year |
| Quality Analyst | Bengaluru, KA, IN | Onsite | ₹500,000 – ₹700,000 / year |
| Social Media Manager | Bengaluru, KA, IN | Onsite | ₹500,000 – ₹700,000 / year |
| Graphic Designer | Bengaluru, KA, IN | Onsite | ₹450,000 – ₹500,000 / year |
| Sales Executive | Mumbai, MH, IN / Pune, MH, IN | Onsite | ₹400,000 – ₹600,000 / year |