Shake-up at Sequoia-backed AI startup as APAC expansion hits snag

A picture is worth a thousand words. This rang true when various sources told Tech in Asia that among the people in the photograph below, which surfaced in the media earlier in March, only co-founder and COO Kun Wu remains in the executive leadership team of AI Rudder.

Kun Wu, co-founder and COO of AI Rudder (standing in the center with his arms folded) with the former leadership team of the firm / Photo credit: AI Rudder

The Singapore-headquartered company, which provides voice-based AI solutions to companies for business-to-consumer communications, has employees in China, Indonesia, South Korea, and the Philippines.

The sources said that AI Rudder recently fired seven employees, including three from the six-member leadership team and four other staffers in Singapore. Two other executives filed their walking papers shortly after the layoffs. Besides this, two employees from Indonesia also resigned.

The company’s previous leadership team came from well-known businesses such as customer support software provider Zendesk, sports media firm One Championship, and crypto network Ripple.

The job cuts came soon after AI Rudder raised US$50 million in a series B round in March from Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital India, and Huashan Capital, among other investors.

The AI startup’s growth certainly drew in investors. In less than two years, its annual recurring revenue jumped from from US$1 million to US$10 million as of this June, according to an internal presentation seen by Tech in Asia.

Given these numbers, the layoffs were clearly not due to insufficient funds.

All of the sources, including current employees and ex-staffers who spoke to Tech in Asia under the condition of anonymity, say that their working conditions deteriorated after the series B round.

According to AI Rudder’s Wu, the dismissals were based on the employees’ performance issues in the past few months. The COO also pointed out how some of the other staffers “have resigned voluntarily, citing personal reasons.”

He says that among these reasons was the firm’s return to the office. The move was spurred by Singapore’s decision to end its default “work from home” policy amid the easing of pandemic restrictions.

While the sources agree with the last point, they say that performance had nothing to do with the dismissals.

The sources also allege that Wu expected employees to respond to messages on Lark – the Chinese equivalent of Slack – on weekends and holidays. Tech in Asia has reviewed screenshots of these reported messages.

In response, Wu says that AI Rudder is “trying to ensure that we are sensitive and accommodating to individual circumstances and requirements.” He adds that employees are given additional medical leaves for Covid-19 recovery and provided with health insurance policies.

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