Software unicorn Sisense sacks 100 employees, 15% of workforce
Software unicorn Sisense sacks 100 employees, 15% of workforce
The current layoffs are another shock in a long series of negative developments at Sisense, beginning with the departure of senior executives last year and followed by relatively small-scale layoffs and a halt in recruitment
Less than three months after announcing the retirement of Amir Orad from the position of CEO, software company Sisense is embarking on an extensive round of layoffs. Calcalist has learned that Sisense is set to part ways with 100 employees, which make up about 15% of the workforce. The move will affect all departments, including the Israeli headquarters, which employs 150 people and where hearings began last week.
The current layoffs are another shock in a long series of developments at Sisense that began with the departure of senior executives last year, followed by relatively small-scale layoffs and a halt in recruitment. In 2022, Sisense reduced its workforce from 800 employees to 600 employees, and many of the company's early employees left. Alongside the downsizing, Sisense changed its business focus several times, shifting from developing analytics tools for businesses to focusing solely on large enterprises, and then deciding to concentrate on integrating analytics tools into other corporate software. At the end of April, the company announced the appointment of Ariel Katz as CEO. Katz had joined a year earlier as Chief Products and Technology Officer and General Manager of Israel.
Sisense is an established company that was founded back in 2004. Eight years ago, Orad, who was not part of the founding team, joined to manage the company, and in 2019, he helped make the company one of the first to reach a valuation of a billion dollars with a $100 million funding round led by Insight Partners. The main investors in Sisense, apart from Insight, are renowned venture capital funds such as Bessemer Ventures Partners, Battery Ventures, and Access.
Shortly after the recruitment, Sisense began preparing for an IPO on Wall Street, but this plan never came to fruition due to the company's inability to stabilize revenues. Since the 2019 round, Sisense has not completed any additional capital raises and has instead financed itself through credit.
Sisense reported reaching an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $150 million earlier this year and positive EBITDA over the previous two quarters. The company even achieved positive cash flow, which allows it to refrain from raising money at this stage. However, despite the seemingly high revenue rate, Sisense didn’t register the same rate of growth compared to the previous year, which is one of the reasons for the current layoffs.
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The new CEO is planning another change in the company's business direction that will involve marketing to developers who will integrate its business intelligence tools at the code stage as an integral part of the software.
"Like any responsible company during this period, and in order to maintain the growth and level of profitability that we have sustained for a significant period of time, we realized that efficiency measures are necessary within the company. We are committed to helping the employees who are leaving find their next workplace, and providing them with all the support they need during this challenging period," Katz said in response to Calcalist's inquiry. "As a leading company in the world of embedded analytics, we continue to work on new growth engines and leverage products to strengthen our leadership for years to come, and build an organization that aligns with our goals, which include both growth and profitability."
