Content discovery engine StumbleUpon has reportedly been unable to secure additional funding, forcing the company to initiate a fresh wave of layoffs. By the end of the week, StumbleUpon’s workforce will be slashed from just under 100 employees to around 30 according to a source familiar with the matter as reported by VentureBeat.
StumbleUpon reportedly informed employees of the changes last week. Those getting the axe are said to be finishing up work this week. The 30 or so staffers that are sticking around are in sales and engineering, we’re told.
The source said it’s been difficult for StumbleUpon to compete. It predates the majority of social networks, suggesting the site’s glory days are far in the rearview mirror at this point.
StumbleUpon got its start in November 2001 when Garrett Camp, Geoff Smith, Justin LaFrance and Eric Boyd came up with the idea while Camp was in post-graduate school. The site, which aggregates content tailored to individual users, gained a sizable following in its early years and was eventually acquired by eBay in 2007 for $75 million.
Two years later, Camp and Smith bought it back.
If accurate, this wouldn’t be the first time StumbleUpon has laid off a large number of employees. In 2013, the company shed 30 percent of its workforce in a bid to become profitable.
Assuming StumbleUpon is indeed on the way out, it wouldn’t be the end of the world for Camp. He went on to co-found Uber with Travis Kalanick in 2009. At last check, Uber is estimated to be worth around $50 billion. Camp and Kalanick broke into the Forbes annual list of billionaires earlier this year with a net worth of $5.3 billion each.
Image courtesy Andrew Mager, Flickr
