Airlift announces complete shutdown following funding crunch
Airlift Technologies announces complete shutdown
Airlift Technologies has declared a complete suspension of its fast commerce operations. The startup shuts down after three years of operation in Pakistan (July 13). The decision to shut down was made public by the corporation during a meeting with staff today.
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The reports that Airlift had decided to shut down completely and that an all-staff meeting had been set for announcement. This caused raging anxiety at the employees.
An anonymous Airlift employee told a local source that the startup was totally wrapping up operations and that an announcement regarding this would be issued soon.
The source at Airlift claimed, “They have decided to give a two-month severance package to employees and shut it down completely.”
Launched in 2019, Airlift held its brief stay in Pakistan to first make their mass-transit concept fail before jumping on the rapid commerce bandwagon and spent tens of millions of dollars in the process.
So what actually happened with Airlift Technologies?
People are currently less inclined to pay money for luxuries like rapid food delivery. This is due to factors like the global financial crisis, rising inflation, and skyrocketing gasoline prices. On top of that, Airlift had to raise the price of these services as a result of the worldwide economic decline.
Startups have traditionally used venture capital funding to subsidise these pleasures. Since investors tighten their strings during the recession, there is kind of a modern meltdown happening.
Due to funding issues, the firm was on the verge of closing down completely. Unnamed investors had backed out of the $20 million round of funding. “The company is wrapping up stock at its warehouses and there is considerable uncertainty around the future of the employees,” said a source at the startup.
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Moreover, Airlift has confirmed that the startup is indeed choosing to shut down completely due to finance issues that have been made worse by the drop in investment activity.
Due to concerning the veracity of its figures, Airlift may have credibility issues. Airlift might have been acquired by Foodpanda. The issue is that Foodpanda’s parent firm is also feeling the consequences of the slump in the stock market and has seen its valuation plummet.
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