Exclusive: GoKwik Lays Off Around 120 Employees Amid AI Push

Ecommerce enabler GoKwik has fired 100-120 employees as part of a restructuring exercise carried out over the past few weeks, sources told Inc42.

While the restructuring exercise impacted employees across departments, customer onboarding, implementation, and tech teams were among the hardest hit, the sources said. 

The layoffs were part of the startup’s AI push as it seeks to automate more of its operations, the sources added.

Questions sent to GoKwik didn’t elicit any response till the time of publication. 

Founded in 2020 by Chirag Taneja, Vivek Bajpai, and Ankush Talwar, GoKwik is an ecommerce enablement startup that offers software tools to help online brands improve checkout, reduce order returns, automate customer engagement and increase sales.  

The restructuring exercise comes almost a year after the startup raised $13 Mn in a round led by RTP Global, with participation from Z47, Peak XV Partners, and Think Investments. At the time, the startup said it planned to double down on its target to build an integrated suite of solutions for ecommerce brands.

Overall, the startup has raised a total funding of $68 Mn to date.

Last year, GoKwik acquired Return Prime, a global returns management app of Shopify to foray into the overseas markets, including the US, the UK and Europe, among others. Back then, it said it was aiming to onboard more than 10,000 merchants post acquisition.  

Prior to that, GoKwik bought chat commerce startup Tellephant for an undisclosed amount. 

Restructuring driven by AI adoption is becoming increasingly common among Indian startups. Earlier this year, Livspace laid off around 1,000 employees as part of its AI push, while Innovaccer cut about 350 jobs as it transitioned to becoming an AI-native company. IPO-bound Acko also trimmed around 5% of its workforce as part of its AI-led restructuring. 

The post Exclusive: GoKwik Lays Off Around 120 Employees Amid AI Push appeared first on Inc42 Media.