Augmented reality helmet maker Daqri is cutting about 25% of its nearly 400-person-strong workforce worldwide, multiple people have told Business Insider.
The workforce at its headquarters in Los Angeles and its Sunnyvale, California, offices were told of layoffs on Thursday and experienced the brunt of the layoffs, about 60 people, we understand. Other offices in the UK expect to hear about job cuts on Monday.
The company confirmed a reorganization to us, saying that only a “small fraction” of employees were involved and saying that it’s also still hiring, looking for dozens people.
Daqri remains committed to bringing AR Everywhere. Given the rapid changes in our industry, that mission sometimes requires a reallocation of resources to support technological advancements in areas with high potential for growth. Our organizational changes this week, affecting a small fraction of the company, allow a strengthened focus on high-growth segments. In fact we are actively recruiting for more than two dozen positions. Daqri remains committed to our people, our mission of ‘redefining what is humanly possible,’ and making a lasting difference through our groundbreaking technology and products.
The company makes a helmet and AR glasses geared toward enterprises, so a sort of a direct competitor to Microsoft HoloLens. The product has been particularly buzzy in the LA startup scene.
Its offices are tucked away in downtown Los Angeles, on a floor that used to be the set of “Mad Men,” as Business Insider’s Biz Carson previously reported.
Daqri raised $ 132 million, with most of that coming from Newport Beach-based Tarsadia Investments, the VC arm of the Tarsadia hotelier/real estate investment group, according to PitchBook.
As of October, the company was seeking another $ 200 million in funding, but we understand that that round has yet to happen.
Daqri is not as high-profile as its would-be competitor Magic Leap, the super secretive AR company that’s raised nearly $ 1.4 billion in investment, is valued at $ 4.5 billion and is still working on its prototypes.
However, Daqri was thought to be farther along with its products and generating some revenue, with orders from companies like Hyperloop and Siemens.
People are now telling us that Daqri is also struggling to perfect and launch some of its promised products as well.
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