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Collin Furtado · · 5 min readTemasek blockchain startup trims team amid technical troubles
Update (September 19, 2024 16:55 p.m.): This article was updated to add details about a few other employee exits within the company.
Blockchain fintech startup Partior is operating with reduced headcount after terminating around 30 employees in July, while several staffers, including members of the leadership team, have also left, people with knowledge of the matter told Tech in Asia.
Partior is the latest startup backed by Temasek Holdings to be hit by job cuts and staff exits in the last 10 months. In December 2023, Tech in Asia reported similar moves at three other Temasek startups.
Photo credit: Tech in Asia
Founded in 2021, Partior was jointly formed by DBS, JPMorgan, Standard Chartered, and Temasek. The startup’s cross-border transaction technology uses a distributed ledger that connects settlement and commercial banks to process payments. It aims to make the payment process faster, more transparent, and up to 80% cheaper.
The retrenchment was announced just days after Partior unveiled a US$60 million series B fundraise led by Peak XV Partners, formerly known as Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia.
The layoffs primarily affected employees in Singapore, where Partior is based. The company also has 15 developers in India.
Behind the layoffs
In the termination letter issued to axed employees that was reviewed by Tech in Asia, Partior said both existing and new investors have “made it clear that their support would only be given under the condition of a tighter and more focused use of the investment.”
Partior also pointed out how its “cost structure by far exceeds the income generated, which is unsustainable.”
In a statement to Tech in Asia, Partior said it has “made some difficult but necessary decisions to best gear the company to realize scale and grow volume” as it evolves from being a startup to “a full-fledged scaleup.”
Partior team / Photo credit: Partior
Its startup-to-scale up strategy involves developing payment monitoring systems and implementing a standardized process for onboarding and servicing customers.
See also: Behind the crypto project backed by Temasek, JP Morgan, DBS
Onboarding obstacles
Transaction speed humps
CEO woes
Major backers
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Partior faced onboarding hurdles and performance issues with its cross-border payment product, sources told Tech in Asia.
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