Silicon Valley-based startup Nuro announced on Friday that it will lay off approximately 20% of its staff. In an email to employees, the company’s co-founders admitted that their rapid hiring process earlier in the year was a mistake.
Nuro stated that its accelerated growth over the past year is largely attributed to its large inbound capital investment. Currently standing at an $8.6 billion valuation, the startup received over $600 million last year from Tiger Global Management, Alphabet Inc’s Google, and Softbank Group Corp.
Founders Dave Ferguson and Jiajun Zhu, who both previously worked at Google’s self-driving car project, explained that while the company grew rapidly this past year, challenges such as the ongoing U.S. inflation hike and the rise in energy costs have forced the company to cut costs.
“We doubled the size of our team in less than two years and significantly increased our operating expenses, assuming the funding environment would remain strong,” the pair admitted, adding that around 300 employees would be affected by their decision to reduce their workforce.
“We made this call and take full responsibility for today’s circumstances,” Ferguson and Zhu stated in their email to employees.