News Update

Sequoia-funded Ankiti Bose’s Zilingo to liquidate after crisis

• ByStartupStory     |    January 21, 2023

After a protracted crisis that startled Asia’s startup and technology industries, Zilingo Pte is about to go into liquidation. 

According to persons with knowledge of the situation who asked to remain anonymous since the situation is confidential, the board of the fashion-tech firm based in Singapore designated EY Corporate Services Pte as interim liquidator. Major shareholders and creditors were informed of the board’s decision, they claimed. The board refuses to offer any comment on this article. 

The liquidation procedure puts an end to a firm whose collapse and months-long struggle for survival sent shockwaves through the tech industry in Southeast Asia and India. Ankiti Bose, 31, the prominent co-founder and CEO, was fired from the once-high-flying company in May after allegations of financial irregularities sent it into a downward spiral.

Bose maintained her denial of any involvement throughout the crisis and claimed she was unfairly singled out. Bose sought a counsel to defend herself against what she called a “witch hunt” as the conflict between the board and her grew more heated. Bose contended that she was being held accountable for choices and actions that senior managers and directors were aware of. 

According to the sources, Zilingo’s creditors Varde Partners and Indies Capital Partners were able to sell part of the company’s assets, which led to the liquidation. They claimed that the assets had been sold to the new owner for an unknown sum.

One of the most well-known startups to come out of Singapore was Zilingo. Temasek Holdings Pte, a significant state investor, asked the corporation to correct the matter out of worry that the meltdown was damaging its brand. Sequoia Capital India, the regional division of the Silicon Valley company that supported Google and Apple Inc., was another notable investor. 

The deteriorating relationship between Bose, a well-known CEO who travelled the world to speak at tech conferences, from Hong Kong to California, and Shailendra Singh, the head of Sequoia India, her longtime ally, was at the root of the company’s demise. They were once allies but broke apart as financial pressure increased. Singh lost faith in the young founder’s managerial abilities, and Bose thought Singh had betrayed her by forcing her out of her own business. 

When Bose was 27 years old, Zilingo received an investment round valuation of about $1 billion. However, the Covid-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the company’s operations, forcing it to slash staff as sales dropped. 

Chief Operating Officer Aadi Vaidya left the company shortly after Chief Financial Officer Ramesh Bafna, a former CFO of fashion e-commerce portal Myntra, quit in May of last year, only two months after joining it. 

According to Bloomberg News at the time, the board began considering options in June, including liquidation and a management buyout. This featured a presentation on the company’s asset sales from financial advisor Deloitte LLP. Zilingo’s co-founder with Bose in 2015, Dhruv Kapoor, presented the case for a buyout. 

Zilingo, which formerly had hundreds of employees and operated in at least eight countries, most recently had less than 100 employees in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh as a result of a significant downsizing during the crisis.

 

 

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