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Cars24 lays off 200 Employees

EntrackrEntrackr · 8m ago
Cars24 lays off 200 Employees
Medial

Cars24, the e-commerce platform for pre-owned vehicles, has laid off over 200 employees as part of a cost-cutting measure, according to three sources familiar with the development. According to sources, the SoftBank–backed company provided affected employees with standard severance packages. In a statement to Entrackr, Vikram Chopra, co-founder and CEO of Cars24, said, "This is a tough decision. Over the past few weeks, we've had to part ways with around 200 employees across various functions. We are deeply grateful for their contributions. The layoffs are not about performance, but about structure and the bets we placed. We've learned that speed without clarity is expensive, and some projects and roles were added prematurely. Moving forward, we need to be more strategic and deliberate with our investments and team-building." Despite not raising any external funding in the last three and a half years, Cars24 secured $450 million in December 2021 from investors including SoftBank, Tencent, DST Global, and Falcon Edge’s Alpha Wave. This funding round valued the company at $3.3 billion. In FY24, Cars24 reported a 25% year-on-year increase in revenue, from Rs 5,530 crore in FY23 to Rs 6,917 crore. Despite this, the company posted a net loss of Rs 498 crore and an adjusted EBITDA loss of Rs 318 crore for the same period.

A23 parent lays off 500 employees following RMG ban: Report

EntrackrEntrackr · 3m ago
A23 parent lays off 500 employees following RMG ban: Report
Medial

Head Digital Works, the parent company of A23 Rummy, A23 Poker, and Cricket.com, has laid off approximately 500 employees, nearly two-thirds of its workforce. The move comes after India enacted the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, which imposes a blanket ban on real-money online gaming. Last week, A23 also filed a petition before the Karnataka High Court challenging the newly enacted law. The next hearing is scheduled for September 8 at 2:30 PM. “At Head Digital Works, our people have been central to our growth and it was with careful consideration that we took the decision to let go of a significant part of our workforce. We will ensure that this transition is handled with responsibility, providing meaningful severance and support to those impacted, and we remain grateful for their contributions. While recent regulatory changes necessitated this step, we are confident that a balanced framework will evolve over time, and we remain committed to building a resilient future and exploring new opportunities for the company," said Siddharth Sharma, CEO, Head Digital Works. The decision was announced in a company-wide town hall, and the firm now has about 200 employees focused on key teams. Meanwhile, Head Digital Works is evaluating new business opportunities beyond gaming to build a sustainable future. Head Digital Works further highlighted the broader impact on the sector, warning of job losses affecting over 200,000 people and threats to foreign and domestic investments in India’s booming Rs 23,440 crore online skill gaming industry. Following the ban, more layoffs are expected across real-money gaming platforms. Recently, Bengaluru-based unicorn MPL was in the news for cutting about 60% of its staff in India, roughly 300 employees.

SoftBank-backed Whatfix lays off 6% of workforce

EntrackrEntrackr · 19d ago
SoftBank-backed Whatfix lays off 6% of workforce
Medial

SoftBank-backed Whatfix lays off 6% of workforce Software-as-a-service (SaaS) company Whatfix has laid off 6% of its workforce. This marks the first layoff announced by the Bengaluru-based firm since its inception. Economic Times, which reported the development first, added that 60-80 employees were impacted in the strategic realignment. Responding to Entrackr’s queries, a company spokesperson said, “Whatfix undertook a strategic realignment to sharpen its focus on long-term, sustainable, and efficient growth in a rapidly changing market. As part of this shift, approximately 6% of our current headcount was impacted, including around 4% in our GTM (go-to-market) teams, to better align our go-to-market with the strong traction we are seeing in our AI-first product lines.” “These decisions are never easy, and we remain committed to handling the transition with care and empathy for our colleagues. We will continue to support impacted team members and ensure uninterrupted excellence for our customers,” the spokesperson added. Founded by Khadim Batti and Vara Kumar, Whatfix provides in-app guidance and performance support for web applications and software products. Its tools are used by large companies to drive efficiency. In September last year, the company raised $125 million in a Series E round led by Warburg Pincus, with participation from existing investor SoftBank Vision Fund 2. After the funding, Whatfix launched a $58 million liquidity program for employees and investors, marking its fourth ESOP buyback. While Whatfix has yet to disclose its FY25 numbers, the company’s revenue from operations grew 49% to Rs 424.58 crore in FY24 from Rs 284.74 crore in FY23. It also reduced its losses by 20% to Rs 262.63 crore in FY24. The US emerged as Whatfix’s largest revenue contributor and accounted for 72.13% of its total revenue.

Tech upskilling startup Scaler lays off 150 employees

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Tech upskilling startup Scaler lays off 150 employees
Medial

Tech upskilling startup Scaler has laid off around 150 employees citing long-term growth and sustainability. This is the first instance of layoffs at the Bengaluru-based company since its inception in 2019. “At Scaler, we’ve always believed that education is a primary human need, and tech education, more so. It is imperative that we look at how we operate for long-term growth and sustainability. As part of this, we have designed a new way of working to be able to achieve sustainable growth while delivering the best learning experience and outcomes for our learners – something that we’ve always been committed to,” said Scaler cofounder Abhimanyu Saxena, in a statement. “As part of this restructuring, we identified some functions/roles, primarily in marketing and sales, in the company that we had to part ways with…,” Saxena added. Saxena further added that this was not a performance-driven decision and the firm assures all those affected are provided with the necessary support to ensure a smooth transition. Moneycontrol reported the development first. Scaler focuses on upskilling college students and tech professionals. The company offers an intensive six-month computer science course through live classes delivered by tech leaders and subject matter experts. The firm has raised over $75 million across rounds from the likes of Lightrock India Peak XV Partners and Tiger Global. The firm last raised $55 million in Series B in February 2022 at a valuation of $750 million and was on the verge of becoming seventh unicorn from the edtech space. For the fiscal year ending in March 2023, Scaler’s revenue from operations increased 388% to Rs 317 crore from Rs 65 crore in FY22. The firm recorded a loss of 330 crore in FY23, a 90% surge from Rs 174 crore in FY22. Scaler competes with Newton School, Masai School, and to some extent with Simplilearn. As per data compiled by startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, Indian startup ecosystem saw more than 1,100 employees getting fired during the first quarter of 2024. Among them, foodtech company Swiggy topped the list with laying off 350 employees followed by Cult.fit, InMobi, and Pristyn Care with 150, 125 and 120 employees, respectively.

Exclusive: Aakash lays off employees amid strategic shift

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Exclusive: Aakash lays off employees amid strategic shift
Medial

Byju’s-owned Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) has laid off 80 to 100 employees over the past couple of months, according to sources familiar with the matter. “Aakash has fired anywhere between 80-100 employees, including senior and middle-level executives, who were impacted by the layoffs,” said one source, requesting anonymity. Several long-time employees, some with over 4 years of service, were also laid off in the past few weeks. An AESL spokesperson stated, “As a high-performance organization, our performance reviews, talent development interventions, and consequence management follow a biannual cycle. We are introducing new business models as part of the Aakash 2.0 strategy, which includes creating new roles, consolidating existing ones, and aggressively hiring new talent. Unlike other players in the category, we expect to be net hirers by the end of this year.” The spokesperson did not disclose the specific number of employees affected by the layoffs. This marks the first instance of layoffs at Aakash since its acquisition by Byju’s in April 2021, when the Bengaluru-based edtech giant spent around $940 million to acquire the company. However, the Chaudhry family, founders of AESL, refused to swap their remaining stake, citing governance concerns. Earlier this year, both companies withdrew their merger petition, continuing to operate independently under the Think and Learn brand. In April, Aakash appointed Deepak Mehrotra as its managing director and chief executive officer. The company is expected to surpass Rs 2,300 crore in operating revenue in FY23, according to its valuation report, though it has yet to file audited financial statements for FY23 and FY24.

Exclusive: Bobble AI lays off 50 employees amid organizational redesign

EntrackrEntrackr · 3m ago
Exclusive: Bobble AI lays off 50 employees amid organizational redesign
Medial

Exclusive: Bobble AI lays off 50 employees amid organizational redesign According to the company, it is supporting outgoing employees with an Employee Assistance Program, career coaching, and well-being sessions. Bobble AI, the homegrown AI-powered communication and data intelligence startup, has laid off about 50 employees in a recent round of restructuring, according to three sources aware of the matter. "The move was communicated internally and has been attributed to the company’s ongoing fundraising challenges. The layoffs were linked to the slowdown in closing fresh funding,” said a source, requesting anonymity. Bobble AI confirmed the development to Entrackr. “Bobble AI recently undertook an organizational redesign to align with our long-term strategic priorities and commitment to stakeholders. This meant reflection and looking into 3 Ps – Projects, Processes and People. This decision was not driven solely by fundraising but by our focus on building a leaner, more resilient company. We remain confident about our growth path and committed to innovating in AI-powered communication and data intelligence,” said Ankit Prasad, founder of Bobble AI, in a statement. However, the company did not comment on how many employees were impacted by the layoff. Entrackr had earlier reported that Bobble AI is raising fresh funds at a 30% lower valuation. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, the Gurugram-based company has raised around $35 million, including $26 million in a mix of primary and secondary capital from Krafton Inc in September 2022. Krafton controls nearly 25% stake in the 12-year-old company. Bobble.ai offers an AI-powered Indic keyboard supporting over 120 languages, with facial recognition for personalized GIFs and stickers. Integrated with WhatsApp and Facebook (Meta), the company monetizes through ads, data insights, subscriptions, and branded merchandise. For the fiscal year ended March 2024, Bobble AI registered a 25% growth in revenue to Rs 37.67 crore. However, its losses also widened by 40% to Rs 60.88 crore in the same period. The firm is yet to report its FY25 numbers.

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