May 24, 2023

Redeem now Tractable, a computer vision startup, has laid off a chunk of its workforce, the company confirmed. Last valued at $1 billion, Tractable uses AI to help insurance companies assess damage to cars or homes. The layoffs come despite a broader trend of investors rushing to throw cash at AI startups. Tractable, a startup focused on AI and computer vision, has laid off a chunk of its workforce, the company confirmed to Insider. Founded in 2015 by CEO Alex Dalyac, chief technology officer Razvan Ranca, and ex-president Adrien Cohen, Tractable uses artificial intelligence to analyze photos of damage to cars and homes to help insurers accurately gauge repair costs. The company is primarily based in New York and London. In a statement to Insider, Tractable confirmed that it downsized its teams on two occasions; it cut 10 to 15 staffers in September 2022, followed by a larger cut to its teams in January 2023. The company declined to confirm numbers due to ongoing regional workplace laws, which mean the layoffs process is ongoing in different countries. In total, the reductions spanned seven countries. "Letting go of team members is always a painfully difficult decision to make, but like many tech companies, we have had to adapt as markets and VCs move from rewarding growth regardless of losses, to rewarding profit," a Tractable representative told Insider. "Taking these steps allowed us to prepare for a challenging economic environment and to position ourselves for strategic growth in 2023." Like many of its growth-stage peers, Tractable benefited from tech's bull run in 2021, cinching a $60 million Series D from New York-based private equity firm Insight Partners and Toronto-based venture firm Georgian. The round valued the company above $1 billion. But the startup has not been immune to the effects of the global tech downturn, which has culled VC investment into startups and seen tech firms layoff almost 200,000 employees globally in 2023, per layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi . Asked if the company has retained its $1 billion-plus valuation, the representative told Insider: "Tractable was valued at $1 billion the last time we raised funds in June 2021. "The entire tech market is now valued at different revenue multiples than in mid-2021 and Tractable is no exception." And as is common in growth-stage companies, Tractable remains loss-making, according to accounts for its UK entity filed with Companies House for the year ended December 2021. The firm lost £15.7 million (around $19.4 million) on revenue of £13.2 million (around $16.2 million), steeper than its loss of £6.7 million (around $8.2 million) on revenue of £8.7 million (around $10.8 million) the prior year. The growing losses were partly down to a near-doubling of the startup's administrative expenses year on year, which include staffing costs. In its 2021 financials, Tractable stated that the firm could continue operating as a going concern even if its losses continue, due to a $40 million revolving credit facility. Additional filings with Companies House in late 2022 list the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce as a lender. Tractable declined to comment on whether it had raised further equity or debt financing. The layoffs come despite increased investor appetite for startups developing AI, fueled by the release of ChatGPT in November 2022. During the first three months of 2022, investors poured $24.1 billion into AI and machine learning startups; that traction has held a year on, with AI and machine-learning startups bagging $25.2 billion, according to Dealroom . Sign up for notifications from Insider! Stay up to date with what you want to know. Subscribe to push notifications