Tech unicorn Calm.com Inc is sacking a fifth of its employees, as venture-backed companies seek to reduce their headcount amid a slump in available follow-on funding.
The sleep, meditation and relaxation app maker was founded in 2012 and completed its last financing round of undisclosed size last month, according to data provider Pitchbook.
In 2019, it raised US$88bn from investors such as actor Ashton Kutcher’s venture fund Sound Ventures, TPG Growth, Insight Venture Partners in a funding round that valued it at US$1bn, making it one of the first meditation apps to achieve unicorn status.
The app provider bought healthcare company Ripple Health in February this year, when boss David Ko joined as co-chief executive to run the app alongside co-founder Michael Acton Smith.
Ko issued a memo to Calm’s staff yesterday saying the company was “reducing our overall workforce by 20%”, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The cull is estimated to amount to 90 lay-offs out of a total headcount of about 400.
The memo said that the leadership team had “revisited the investment thesis behind every project” before taking the decision.
Calm is expected to hold an ad hoc meeting today to discuss “the future of the business”.