Edtech

Online Math Learning Platform Cuemath Reportedly Cuts 100 More Staff

• ByStartupStory     |    August 28, 2023

Bengaluru-based edtech startup Cuemath has announced a further reduction in its workforce, resulting in the layoff of 100 additional employees. This move is part of a restructuring effort aimed at addressing the challenges presented by the current macroeconomic environment. The company had already initiated a round of layoffs in May, and this recent development reflects its ongoing response to the evolving business landscape.

 “We’ve taken the difficult decision to reduce the size of our team as part of a restructuring exercise across the company. In this process, we will be bidding goodbye to 100+ talented Cuemath employees,” said a spokesperson from CueMath, in a statement.

 According to the spokesperson, the company had made a lot of progress over the past few months, strengthening the product experience, growing the revenue base, and improving key operating metrics, while keeping costs under control.  “However, we also realize that the adverse macro-environment for startups – and especially in the edtech space – is here to stay for an uncertain amount of time. This has led us to recalibrate our business priorities and pursue a more sustainable growth path,” he said. 

Manan Khurma, Founder and CEO of Cuemath, informed the employees about this decision through an e-mail, Moneycontrol reported. YourStory has seen a copy of the internal mail. “Unfortunately, our revenue and cost trajectories are still divergent from expectations, and our problems are compounded by the bad macro situation around capital availability, particularly for edtech,” the e-mail read.  

“This means we will have to move to a leaner team structure, in which some roles will become redundant. That exercise is being carried out today.”

Cuemath had previously implemented job cuts in May, impacting around 100 employees. Khurma reassumed the CEO role during that period of restructuring. 

“Post the May 8th exits, I had said that hopefully, the company will not take similar action again… I had underestimated the extent of the turnaround required to get the company into a healthy situation,” Khurma told the employees. 

In June of the prior year, Cuemath secured $57 million in funding, led by Alpha Wave Global, resulting in a valuation of $407 million—a more than twofold increase. The current downturn in the edtech industry has led several startups, including Teachmint, Skill-Lync, and BYJU’S, to make similar workforce reductions this year.

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