Calm, the meditation and relaxation tech startup featuring a mix of celebrity voices, has laid off a fifth of its staff. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and has about 400 employees, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The affected employees were fired on Thursday, a company spokesperson told SFGATE. The laid-off employees were notified in one-on-one meetings, according to a company-wide announcement.
“While some of you will be affected, all of you will be affected,” Calm CEO David Ko said in Thursday’s announcement. “I can assure you that this was not an easy decision, but it is especially difficult for a company like ours whose mission is focused on mental health and wellness in the workplace.”
Calm, like direct competitor Headspace and digital therapy services like BetterHelp and Talkspace, have benefited from the recent surge in demand for mental health and wellness care — demand that has only been boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic. But Calm’s big draw over its competitors was its reliance on mega-celebrities, from boy-turned-pop dreamer Harry Styles to actor Matthew McConaughey, to read “sleep stories” on the platform.
By 2020, it was valued at $2 billion, making it one of the biggest unicorns in the mental health tech space. But it, too, has been forced to scale back as the more constrained tech industry has seen demand drop after profits — and hiring — surged during the pandemic.
“We did not make this decision lightly, but we are confident that these changes will help us prioritize the future, focus on growth and become a more efficient organization,” Ko said.
A spokeswoman did not provide additional details about the severance packages for the laid-off employees.
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