At Cameo, Deep Layoffs Followed a Dash for Cash
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Financial shortfalls and a struggle to find new funding prompted further layoffs at the one-time unicorn, which has seen growth fizzle as the pandemic ebbed.
Financial shortfalls and a struggle to find new funding prompted further layoffs at the one-time unicorn, which has seen growth fizzle as the pandemic ebbed.
By Kaya Yurieff [email protected] Âom Profile and archive → Follow Kaya on Twitter , Natasha Mascarenhas [email protected] Âom Profile and archive → Follow Natasha on Twitter and Kate Clark [email protected] Âom Profile and archive → Follow Kate on Twitter
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Last week, things finally seemed to be stabilizing for employees of Cameo—an online marketplace where people can pay supporting cast members of “Seinfeld” and other celebrities to record personalized video messages.
After two rounds of layoffs in 2022 that had gutted the size of its staff, Cameo had flown dozens of employees to its Chicago office from around the U.S. and the world, from Mexico to Malta, for an annual hackathon. The employees feasted on lunch from Chipotle and dinner from a local Chinese joint as they also worked on planning for the second half of the year. By this week, though, many of them were out of a job after a third round of layoffs shrank the startup’s headcount to under 50 workers—roughly a tenth of the number Cameo employed just over a year ago.
Some investors in Cameo, meanwhile, are hoping the company finds a buyer, even though they don’t believe it will fetch anything like the $1 billion valuation SoftBank’s Vision Fund and other investors awarded it in 2021. Cameo investors who spoke to The Information estimated the company could be worth as little as $50 million in a sale. Over a year ago, SoftBank marked down its valuation of Cameo to $100 million, a person familiar with the matter said.
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Financial shortfalls and a struggle to find new funding prompted further layoffs at the one-time unicorn, which has seen growth fizzle as the pandemic ebbed. Financial shortfalls and a struggle to find new funding prompted further layoffs at the one-time unicorn, which has seen growth fizzle as the pandemic ebbed. By Kaya Yurieff [email protected] Âom Profile and archive → Follow Kaya on Twitter , Natasha Mascarenhas [email protected] Âom Profile and archive → Follow Natasha on Twitter and Kate Clark [email protected] Âom Profile and archive → Follow Kate on Twitter. Subscribe Now. Last week, things finally seemed to be stabilizing for employees of Cameo—an online marketplace where people can pay supporting cast members of “Seinfeld” and other celebrities to record personalized video messages. After two rounds of layoffs in 2022 that had gutted the size of its staff, Cameo had flown dozens of employees to its Chicago office from around the U.S. and the world, from Mexico to Malta, for an annual hackathon. The employees feasted on lunch from Chipotle and dinner from a local Chinese joint as they also worked on planning for the second half of the year. By this week, though, many of them were out of a job after a third round of layoffs shrank the startup’s headcount to under 50 workers—roughly a tenth of the number Cameo employed just over a year ago. Some investors in Cameo, meanwhile, are hoping the company finds a buyer, even though they don’t believe it will fetch anything like the $1 billion valuation SoftBank’s Vision Fund and other investors awarded it in 2021. Cameo investors who spoke to The Information estimated the company could be worth as little as $50 million in a sale. Over a year ago, SoftBank marked down its valuation of Cameo to $100 million, a person familiar with the matter said. Join now to read the full story. Get Started. - or - Already a subscriber? Sign in here. Latest Articles  AI Agenda facebook ai Pressure Grows on OpenAI to Respond to Meta’s Challenge By Stephanie Palazzolo · July 24, 2023 10:24 AM PDT Welcome to AI Agenda, The Information’s new newsletter that takes you inside the fast-paced world of artificial intelligence.Rapid advancements in the field have prompted companies and governments to grapple with how emerging technology such as ChatGPT and AI-generated video will shape our lives. Through it all, The Information has brought you the early news on companies, investors and ... Benchmark’s Newest General Partner is Former Gaming CEO Victor Lazarte By Kate Clark · July 24, 2023. Lyft Looks for Buyers, Investors in Bikes Division By Cory Weinberg · July 24, 2023. Stripe Plans to Hire Fewer Than 1,000 Workers Through 2024 By Cory Weinberg · July 24, 2023. Join live video Q&A’s. Exclusive. startups venture capital. Shake-Up at Sequoia as Five Partners Exit. Five Sequoia Capital partners have left the firm, the biggest shakeup to the storied venture firm’s leadership since its leader Roelof Botha took over a year ago. Exclusive. startups. Bolt Probed by SEC, Investors Over Statements Made During Fundraising. The Securities and Exchange Commission subpoenaed e-commerce software startup Bolt and sent a notice to co-founder and former CEO Ryan Breslow last year over their past statements to current and potential investors, according to an April 2023 letter from a lawyer representing two of Bolt’s major investors. The Big Read. startups Finance. John Collison’s Land Grab: A Stripe Co-Founder Grows in Power. Visitors to the Abbey Leix estate in County Laois, Ireland, must drive on an unkempt gravel road that leads through a thick forest and past a derelict corn mill to get to the giant old house in the country’s midlands. Exclusive. startups space. SpaceX Forecasts Doubling of Revenue to $8 Billion. Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies, the most highly valued private tech company in the U.S., has told some investors it expects to bring in about $8 billion in revenue in 2023, roughly doubling its revenue from the previous year, according to people familiar with the discussions. Deals. startups cloud. Nvidia Accelerates AI Startup Investments, Nears Deal With Cloud Provider Lambda Labs. Nvidia is known for its stranglehold over the market for the data center chips that power ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence software. Scene and Heard. The Cult of Notion: A Productivity App Becomes a Sensation for Creators. In May, hundreds of people queued outside an auditorium in the San Isidro district of Lima, Peru.