Even as the global economic downturn keeps the hiring in US Big Tech sluggish, the new-age startups have emerged as top gainers attracting top tech talent.

According to reports, while top tech companies freeze hiring and contemplate lay-offs, US startups are scooping up talent, adding experienced engineers and project managers to their roster.

Also companies, with steady cash flow from viable products in the market, are offering rich pay checks to lure talent that would have otherwise preferred working at big technology firms including Microsoft Corp and Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc.

Recent reports claim that the coding platform's headcount had more than doubled this year to 540, with some of the new hires being tapped from firms such as alphabet inc-owned Google and Apple Inc.

The hiring spree comes even as startup funding is drying up in the face of decades-high inflation, a stronger dollar and massive rate hikes, which have pushed Big Tech to pull back on their spending spree.

A recent survey of 581 executives, almost entirely from US tech startups, showed that more than 40% of them boosted their hiring plans in the first half of 2022, according to hiring firm A Team and startup consultant Mass Challenge.

Companies are also shortening hiring times and offering higher pay packages to lock in candidates as they compete for talent in a tight labor market. Still, some analysts warn there is only so long until startups can continue the hiring pace amid a weak economic backdrop.