Pipeshift CEO Arko C said Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee hike won’t change his startup’s hiring plans.
Arko Chattopadhyay, cofounder and CEO of AI startup Pipeshift, said the recent executive order raising H-1B visa application fees to $100,000 will not derail his company’s hiring strategy, Business Insider reported.
Chattopadhyay, known professionally as Arko C, explained that Pipeshift can source talent locally or use other visa routes, such as the O-1 program. “We should be able to get local talent, or we can hire them offshore through a subsidy structure as a remote worker,” he said. “The best AI talent is in the US at the moment.”
While acknowledging that the cost could pose challenges for startups, he argued that for exceptional hires the fees are “manageable” once companies raise larger funding rounds.
Pipeshift, backed by Y Combinator, currently employs staff in both the US and India.