Airmeet, Backed by Prosus, Announces 30% Workforce Reduction
- ByStartupStory | May 26, 2023
Airmeet, an Indian startup specializing in virtual events, has joined the list of companies in the country to downsize their workforce due to funding constraints. The Bengaluru-based firm recently terminated approximately 75 employees, constituting around 30% of its total workforce of 250-300 individuals. The layoffs affected various departments such as sales, marketing, technology, and operations, impacting employees not only in India but also in regions like the United States and Europe.
According to sources, Airmeet made the strategic choice to downsize its workforce in order to bolster its cash reserves and enhance operational effectiveness amidst a business slowdown. In an internal communication, Lalit Mangal, the CEO and co-founder of Airmeet, stated that the company had to implement layoffs due to unsatisfactory outcomes resulting from its execution.
“with drastically reduced marketing budgets everywhere and rapid commoditization of the virtual event category, our steadfast execution is not yielding the needed outcomes for retaining a healthy financial state,” Mangal said.
Highlighting that “AI-paradigm” will change everything about business processes and software, he said, “Airmeet has become a lean and nimble company again to build the new future of digital engagement for communities and companies.”
As part of the layoff process, Airmeet has provided Indian employees with two months’ salary as severance pay and accelerated the vesting of all ESOPs options until June 30, 2023. Additionally, the company will extend health insurance coverage for these employees until August 18, 2023. For affected employees in the United States, Airmeet will offer severance pay in compliance with local regulations.
Although Mangal acknowledged the layoffs, he did not provide specific figures regarding the number of affected employees. These workforce reductions occurred over a year following Airmeet’s successful Series B funding round, in which it secured $35 million from prominent investors like Prosus Ventures, Sistema Asia Fund, RingCentral Ventures, KDDI Open Innovation Fund, DG Daiwa Ventures, and Nexxus Global. Notably, existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Accel India also participated in the funding round.
In September 2020, Airmeet raised $12 million in its Series A funding round, which was led by Sequoia Capital. The startup was founded in 2019 by Lalit Mangal, Vinay Kumar Jasti, and Manoj Kumar Singh, and it operates as an online platform for hosting meetings and events. Airmeet offers participants the opportunity to engage in one-to-one and one-to-many online interactions with other attendees.
Airmeet Networks Pvt Ltd, the Indian entity of Airmeet, witnessed a significant increase in net profit for FY22, reaching INR 5 crore, marking a 1.8X surge compared to INR 2.75 crore in FY21. Furthermore, the company experienced impressive revenue growth, with operations generating INR 75.8 crore in FY22, a more than 1.9X increase from INR 40 crore in FY21.
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