Reshaping hiring with AI: the entrepreneurial journey of Saksham Sandhu
From organizing North India’s largest hackathon to developing an AI-powered hiring platform recognized by Microsoft, his journey is a testament to the power of early curiosity, community building, and technological innovation.
In an era where artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming industries, Saksham Sandhu, a Delhi College of Engineering (DCE) graduate, is leading a new wave of innovation in recruitment. As the co-founder and CTO of GoodSpace.ai, he is redefining how companies hire by leveraging AI-driven automation. From organizing North India’s largest hackathon to developing an AI-powered hiring platform recognized by Microsoft, his journey is a testament to the power of early curiosity, community building, and technological innovation.
For many students, computer science is just another subject. For Saksham Sandhu, it was the start of an obsession. His first exposure to programming came from Sumita Arora’s computer science book, which sparked a fascination with coding. This passion deepened when he read Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, inspiring him to think beyond writing code—to building products that create impact.
His journey took shape at Delhi College of Engineering (now Delhi Technological University, DTU), where he immersed himself in projects that bridged the gap between theory and real-world application. But his ambitions extended beyond personal growth—he wanted to build a thriving ecosystem of tech enthusiasts.
Recognizing the need for collaboration in software development, Saksham founded Software Developers DTU (SDDTU), a society aimed at fostering peer-to-peer learning. This initiative expanded into IOSD (International Organization of Software Developers), which grew across 22 engineering colleges in India, connecting students through workshops, coding challenges, and real-world projects.
One of IOSD’s standout achievements was HackDTU, which became North India’s largest hackathon, attracting developers eager to push the boundaries of technology.
Beyond academia, Saksham also worked with law enforcement agencies, deploying an Autonomous Surveillance Drone for Delhi Police and collaborating on Anubhuti, a digital public feedback initiative with Arunachal Pradesh Police. These projects underscored his belief that technology could be a force for societal improvement.
While still a student, Saksham’s curiosity led him to explore why some job candidates thrived while others struggled despite having similar technical skills. This led to the creation of PlacementSaga, a platform designed to help students enhance their data structures and algorithms (DSA) skills through curated tests and video solutions.
Although PlacementSaga gained traction, scaling it in the competitive ed-tech space proved difficult. The experience, however, provided a crucial insight: the hiring process itself was deeply inefficient—a problem that required a more transformative solution.
Saksham’s experience with PlacementSaga laid the foundation for GoodSpace.ai, which he co-founded with industry veteran Vinay Pasricha. Designed to streamline recruitment using AI, the platform automates sourcing, shortlisting, and interviewing candidates—often within an hour.
GoodSpace.ai functions like an AI-powered recruiter, evaluating both technical and soft skills through real-time conversations. By eliminating biases and reducing hiring time from weeks to hours, the platform is reshaping the recruitment landscape.
Despite GoodSpace.ai’s success, Saksham sees this as just the beginning. He envisions a future where Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) transforms industries beyond hiring—impacting education, healthcare, governance, and more.
“If every repetitive task could be handled by AI, humans could focus on creativity and solving higher-order problems.” – Saksham Sandhu
He is optimistic about India’s growing AI ecosystem, hoping that increased funding will enable startups to drive bold innovations in automation and intelligence.
As India’s AI ecosystem continues to grow, founders like Saksham are proving that bold ideas—when backed by technology and execution—can reshape the way we work, hire, and innovate.
