Biofourmis CEO steps down after company laid off 120 staff

This story was republished with permission from The Business Times, which made the article available to its paying subscribers. This was moderately edited to reflect Tech in Asia’s editorial guidelines.

Healthcare startup Biofourmis is searching for a new chief executive after its founder, Kuldeep Singh Rajput, abruptly stepped down on Wednesday (August 30), more than a month after the company laid off about 120 employees, sources told The Business Times (BT).

Ben Wanamaker of General Atlantic, one of Biofourmis’ biggest investors, will step in to lead the new CEO office set up to direct the company’s operations, stated a company-wide email seen by BT.

Biofourmis CEO and founder Kuldeep Singh Rajput / Photo credit: Biofourmis

The email, sent on Wednesday morning by Biofourmis chair Omar Ishrak, said Rajput will step down effective immediately and become a senior adviser.

In response to queries from BT, Biofourmis confirmed that Rajput has indeed stepped down and that the company is looking for a new chief executive.

The shift marks the latest in a shake-up at the company, which in July had to cut staff across its Singapore, India, and US operations, said people familiar with the matter.

Biofourmis became one of Southeast Asia’s biggest healthtech stars, after a U$300 million funding round led by General Atlantic propelled the startup to a valuation of US$1.3 billion, data from VentureCap Insights showed.

Biofourmis pairs wearable technology with its analytics software to personalize healthcare treatments.

In the July email announcing the layoffs, Rajput told staff that the company’s structure and operations were being realigned “to accelerate growth, scale, and profitability.”

Rajput founded the company in Singapore in 2015 after dropping out of the National University of Singapore, where he was pursuing a PhD in neuroscience. In 2019, he moved the startup’s headquarters to the biotech hub of Boston in the US.

After founding the company, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate went on to raise funding from some of the biggest names in venture capital, including Sequoia, MassMutual Ventures, and Singapore state-owned EDBI.

Rajput stepped down barely six weeks after he assured staff: “I’ve never been more confident in our future and our Biofourmis team.” In his email following the layoffs, he said the company was well-funded, with a strong pipeline of products and customers.

Biofourmis currently employs over 500 people in various markets, a source told BT.