Third Wave confirmed the layoffs to ET in a statement, saying that it was a “one-time restructuring exercise to consolidate our teams, impacting less than 10% of the organisation,” without giving any further details. “As an organisation we are in a strong position post the recent fundraise,” it added.
News reports suggested over 100 people had been impacted across verticals. The development was first reported by news website MoneyControl.
The September fundraise also saw participation from existing investors including WestBridge Capital and Udaan cofounder Sujeet Kumar. The firm was likely to be valued at around $150 million, people aware of the matter had told ET at the time.
Third Wave is among a number of startups to have conducted layoffs just months after raising funds this year. In October, business-to-business (B2B) vendor-digitisation platform Bizongo fired about 50 employees, or about 15% of its workforce, during a town hall meeting where it also announced a fresh fundraise of $50 million. In April, GIC-backed electric commercial vehicles maker Euler Motors laid off around 250 employees roughly six months after raising $60 million in fundingin October 2022.
Third Wave runs over 100 outlets across India, half of which are in Bengaluru. It also runs outlets in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Pune, Hyderabad, Noida, Coonoor and Chandigarh. Besides selling beverages and food in its cafes, the firm also sells through food marketplaces Zomato and Swiggy and has an offering of its own packaged coffee powder. In comparison, local competitor Blue Tokai has 80 outlets, whereas Tata-backed Starbucks India has over 300 outlets. The two also have their own range of coffee powder.
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Third Wave is looking to add another 50 to 60 outlets this year, cofounder and chief executive Sushant Goel had told ET during the September fundraise. The firm is said to be on an annualised revenue run-rate of around Rs 300 crore.The firm competes with the likes of Blue Tokai, Slay Coffee, Sleepy Owl Coffee and Hatti Kaapi, as well as international players like Starbucks and Tim Hortons. In January this year, Blue Tokai raised $30 million (Rs 245 crore) in a funding round by investment firm A91 Partners, White Whale Ventures and Grand Anicut Fund.