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☆ SoftBank-backed education startup GoStudent conducts another round of layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

SoftBank-backed education startup GoStudent has initiated another round of layoffs, affecting over 100 people, Business Insider understands. Austrian company GoStudent, billed as Europe's first edtech unicorn, offers one-to-one video tutoring. GoStudent did not confirm the scale of the layoffs when approached for comment by BI. The business and strategy adjustments aim to make GoStudent fully profitable and cashflow positive "as quickly as possible," he said. The fresh round of layoffs is GoStudent's third following cuts in September and December of 2022, all previously reported by BI .

Persons: GoStudent, Felix Ohswald, I've, Ohswald, Studienkreis Organizations: Business, LinkedIn, BI Locations: Austrian, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, DACH

☆ 2023 has been an AI feeding frenzy, here are the startups that attracted the most investment this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Despite an overall slump in startup funding, 2023 saw a scramble among investors to pour money into AI and machine learning startups. And the company's star still appears to be rising, despite a messy leadership struggle that recently spilled into public view. Meanwhile OpenAI's perennial rival Anthropic attracted multi-billion dollar investments from both Google and Amazon to fund a competing AI model known as Claude. At the same time legacy companies from John Deere to accounting firm PwC played up their AI bona fides to capitalize on the hype. The list doesn't include startups who have not publicly released the amount of their funding rounds.

Persons: OpenAI, Anthropic, Claude, Databricks, John Deere, PwC, Fresh Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Alpha, Technology, Monogram, Sigma, Lambda, Helsing, Metals, Eagle Eye, Amelia, Asimov, Farmers Business, Harbinger, Prins, Silo, Mistral, Alto, AMP, Management Software, Universal, Coro, Kodiak Robotics, Aerospace, Defense, Sana, Corti, Kyte, Mitra, Tech, Boss Digital Technology, Halcyon, & $ Locations: PitchBook

☆ GoStudent, the $3 billion edtech darling, scaled fast and partied hard. The result was a mess.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

These people were employees of GoStudent, an Austria-based online-tutoring startup that had quickly become the darling of the European tech scene. But 28 current and former GoStudent employees and tutors said they experienced a poorly run organization with clumsy management. Edtech companies "rarely have any major competitive advantage other than scale," a European venture capitalist who's not affiliated with GoStudent said. A GoStudent employee threatened to track down the petition's author using tutors' IP addresses, according to the German publication Handelsblatt. According to public documents updated in December 2022, GoStudent had shrunk to 15 markets and 1,500 employees, including its acquisitions.

Persons: Felix Ohswald, Gregor Müller, GoStudent, who'd, I'm, Heinz, Peter Meidinger, cofounders, Ferdinand von Hagen, Prada, GoStudent's, Dave Benett, Müller, —, Ohswald, Anthony Canavan, Canavan, Brutkasten, Norbert Wess, Harry Murphy, Duncan McIntyre, McIntyre, Neel Gupta, Anna Tuchy, Patrick Nadler, Nadler, Sarah Heuberger, Ross Slater Organizations: German Teachers ' Association, Employees, GoStudent, Conseil, prud'hommes, DBS, Safety Officers, Web, Getty, JP Morgan, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, TechCrunch, Organisation for Economic Cooperation Locations: Vienna, Austria, Silicon Valley, North America, South America, Europe, London, France, Soho , London, Dock, DACH, Germany, Switzerland, Spanish, Sweden, Swedish, GoStudent, Ukraine, Ibiza, GoStudent's, Deliveroo

☆ Paper, the online tutoring unicorn, just had a second round of layoffs. The cuts come a year-and-a-half after raising $270 million in Series D funding.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Paper, an edtech unicorn focused on online tutoring for K-12 students, has laid off staff. The cuts come as edtech startups are facing increasing pressure amid a downturn. The Canadian online tutoring startup Paper has laid off 106 employees, or 4% of staff, Insider has learned. Unlike other online tutoring companies, the bulk of the startup's online tutors are categorized as employees, not contractors, according to Paper's website. Other prominent edtech startups including Byju's, GoStudent, and Degreed have also cut jobs in the past year.

Persons: Slack, we've, Cutler Organizations: Employees, SoftBank Investment, Sapphire Ventures, Los Angeles Unified Locations: Canada, Los Angeles

☆ Edtech startup VC funding has slowed to a crawl. The number of deals done so far this year has dropped more than 50% year-over-year.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The number of new funding deals so far this year is less than last year's Q1 total. The trend is in line with the larger VC funding slowdown in 2023, with the exception of AI deals. That's more than a 50% drop in the number of deals and total deal value from Q1 2022, which had 161 edtech venture deals totaling about $1.3 billion. Reach Capital recently raised a $215 million fund to fund both early and later stage edtech startups. Amid dismal funding for startups this year, the one bright spot has been for AI startups with some generative AI startups raising rounds well over $100 million.

Persons: That's, Katelyn Donnelly, Andressen Horowitz, Kira, Avalanche's Donnelly, there's, Donnelly, Sosnik Organizations: edtech, Reach Locations: edtech

☆ We got an exclusive look at the pitch deck that edtech startup Ignite! Reading used to raise $10 million from Rethink and Citadel founder Ken Griffin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

So far, Ignite says students have learned to read 2.4 times faster than before with its lesson plan. Reading, a virtual tutoring startup that helps children from grades K-8 learn how to read through targeted, one-on-one sessions with an online tutor. While other tutoring companies like Varsity Tutors and GoStudent offer online tutoring and reading assistance, Ignite! Reading focuses specifically on teaching children the processes of reading and comprehension, with a main goal of reaching 1st grade students. Reading, tutors meet with students every day one on one virtually for 15 minutes a day, with a total teaching time of 75 minutes a week.

☆ Leaked video shows the CEO of $3 billion GoStudent announcing fresh layoffs. Insiders and Slack screenshots suggest hundreds of staff have been cut.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

GoStudent held a company-wide all-hands meeting Thursday after a fresh wave of layoffs. The number of employees affected isn't clear, but Slack screenshots show members dropping by 370 over two days. Screenshots of GoStudent's Slack seen by Insider show the number of members dropping by 370 over two days. GoStudent u-turned on perks intended to combat rising inflationScreenshots of the company's Slack channels show employee confusion in response to the layoffs. According to public layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi, almost 1,000 tech companies have cut more than 150,000 staff.

☆ Over 150,000 tech workers have lost their jobs in 2022 with education, health, and crypto sectors among the worst affected
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Over 150,000 tech workers have lost their jobs in 2022, according to tracker site Layoffs.fyi. More than 150,000 tech workers have lost their jobs this year, according to data from tracker site Layoffs.fyi. Industries that grew rapidly during the pandemic — such as health tech, education tech, and crypto — have been the worst affected in 2022. The issue, he said, was that some investors in crypto, education tech, and health tech paid little heed to economic fundamentals. Amid recessions, B2B sub-sectors such as corporate education tech and employee coaching remain promising pockets within education tech, the investor added.

☆ GoStudent, a $3 billion education startup backed by Coatue and SoftBank, has started a fresh wave of layoffs that could hit over 100 jobs, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

SoftBank-backed education startup GoStudent is cutting jobs for the second time in three months. The Austrian startup has already cut roles in Italy, Germany, and Vienna, Insider understands. GoStudent has raised $686 million to date and is also backed by Coatue and Prosus. GoStudent, a $3 billion edtech startup backed by some of the world's biggest tech investors, has started laying off staff for the second time in three months, Insider understands. According to public layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi, almost 1,000 tech companies have cut more than 150,000 staff.

☆ GoStudent, a $3 billion edtech startup backed by SoftBank and Coatue, is laying off a tenth of its staff
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

GoStudent, Europe's first edtech unicorn, is laying off 200 employees — around 10% of its workforce. The Vienna-based startup is backed by investing giants like SoftBank, Coatue, and Tencent. It joins 23 other edtech companies that have let staffers go amid the global economic downturn. GoStudent, an edtech unicorn backed by some of the world's biggest tech investors, is laying off a tenth of its workforce, the company's CEO said. Japan's SoftBank, Chinese tech investor Tencent, and New York hedge fund Coatue have all backed GoStudent, which is valued at 3 billion euros (around $3 billion).

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