This A16z-backed firm draws the curtain on India operations

Sign up for the Daily Newsletter, sent exclusively to our premium subscribers. We break down the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community. Get the newsletter in your inbox everyday with a premium subscription.

Hello reader,

Life has a funny way of working its magic, often leaving us scratching our heads. Rarely do matters turn out exactly as planned. A wave of its wand and, just like that, your vacation is cut short. Another, and the buffet is closed as you begin to dig in.

With so many things out of our control, we must constantly adapt to the ebb and flow of daily life. As a result, sometimes matters end prematurely. Wagner Group’s aborted mutiny in Russia and the tragic tale of OceanGate’s Titan submersible are some recent examples.

Similarly, few at A16z-backed Carta could have foreseen the financial software company, which was valued at US$7.4 billion in August 2021, shutting down its operations in India less than a year after entering the country. But that is exactly what is happening.

Today’s featured piece makes sense of the US-based firm’s unexpected decision to shut its doors in the world’s fifth-largest economy and shift client accounts to its Singapore office.

Today we look at:

• US-based Carta closing doors in India
• Ento bagging growth funding to expand food waste upcycling in SG
• Other newsy highlights such as Patrick Walujo officially becoming GoTo’s new CEO as Andre Soelistyo exits, and Southeast Asian firms jumping on the AI bandwagon

Premium summary

Shutting shop

Image credit: Timmy Loen

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” is perhaps the proverbial phrase of choice when the going gets tough. But it’s still scant consolation for the 22 employees whom Carta fired as a result of its downsizing and closure in India.

Making matters worse is that the employees had not anticipated layoffs as Carta had just conducted performance appraisals a week before, according to a source, who told Tech in Asia under the condition of anonymity.

• Some recourse: Tech in Asia understands that the company will give retrenched staff a severance package of two and half months salary plus any restricted stock options issued to them that have vested.
• Swift exit: Henry Ward, CEO and co-founder of Carta, broke the news during a town hall meeting with the India staff on May 31. “The announcement was kept pretty short and as soon as the town hall ended, the company logged us out from our laptops,” a person affected by the job cuts told Tech in Asia.
• Not the first, hopefully the last: This isn’t the first round of layoffs at Carta this year. The California-based firm shed 10% or about 200 of its staff in January, but people with knowledge of the matter said those affected were part of the US operations. According to the sources, the retrenchments in India weren’t a part of the round announced in January.

Read more: A16z-backed Carta to shut India operations, lays off staff

Fight against food waste

Jump in and share the ups and downs that you’ve experienced as a founder

Quick bytes