Edtech company Skill-Lync fires 20% of its workforce

Engineering-focused edtech startup Skill-Lync has laid off 20% of its total workforce as the company plans to reduce its cost. This is the second round of layoffs at the Chennai and Palo Alto-based startup in 2023.

In April, it reportedly fired 300-400 employees citing macroeconomic conditions. Sources indicate that the layoffs were done to extend the runway as funding prospects look very pale for the five-year-old company.

Confirming the development to Entrackr, SuryaNarayanan PaneerSelvam, co-founder at Skill-lync said, "I would like to address the reported layoff figure, which accurately stands at 20%. It is important to note that our current total headcount is approximately 800 employees.”

“The decision to reduce our workforce primarily stemmed from our strategic shift to streamline student delivery and learning operations and our decision to limit investments in future content and production capabilities and was not taken lightly, and we have done our utmost to ensure that the process was as transparent and fair as possible for the employees involved,” added PaneerSelvam.

TechCrunch reported the development first. 

Backed by the likes of Iron Pillar, Y Combinator and Better Capital, the company has scooped up $20 million across seed and Series A funding rounds. The company focuses on providing industry-relevant and job-leading courses for  engineering students and graduates across all disciplines. While the company recently claimed that it upskilled over 30,000 students from 80 countries including India, it looks like monetization efforts didn’t pan out as expected or projected.

Skill-Lync joins the growth stage startups that have resorted to mass layoffs after raising sizable money in their initial years. Recently, FrontRow, a learning platform for non-academic skills, shut down its operations after raising over $17 million. 

Healthtech startup Mojocare is likely to have the same situation. The Sequoia and B Capital-backed company raised nearly $25 million in risk capital since 2020. On similar lines, crypto startup Pillow wound up its operations in India after raising over $20 million from the likes of Accel, Quona Capital, Elevation Capital.

Update: The headline and post has been updated to reflect comments from the company’s founder.