Italian know-how firm Bending Spoons introduced the acquisition of route-planning app Komoot on Wednesday, with job losses attainable in consequence.
Bending Spoons owns a number of well-known tech manufacturers, together with Evernote, WeTransfer, Issuu, and Brightcove. In a press launch saying the acquisition, it claims to serve a billion folks, with greater than 300 million folks utilizing its merchandise every month.
A report by Sportive said that workers at Komoot have been “completely blindsided” by the sale. The firm employs 150 folks, together with round 25 within the UK. Sportive.com reported that “the roles of most if not all of Komoot’s workers are actually understood to be in danger following a brief transition section as Bending Spoons assess their new acquisition”.
Companies purchased by Bending Spoons in recent times have confronted mass job losses upon acquisition, with Evernote and Mosaic seeing their complete workforce laid off, whereas WeTransfer laid off 75% of its workers, Brightcove laid off 66%, and MeetUp laid off a “significant slice”.
Alongside anticipated layoffs, the way forward for Komoot sponsorships, together with the Komoot Women’s Rally sequence, can be up within the air. It’s unclear whether or not the app may even stay free to make use of. Earlier this month, Komoot introduced that new customers must purchase a premium subscription to sync routes to their units.
“For 17 years, we have now been on a mission to make out of doors adventures accessible to all,” stated Komoot CEO and co-founder Markus Hallerman.
“From humble beginnings in our scholar rooms, we have constructed Komoot from the bottom up and grown it to 45 million customers, making it Europe’s main out of doors platform. Komoot evokes thousands and thousands to discover the outside, enhancing each bodily and psychological well-being, and continues to develop worldwide.
“However, what acquired us right here will not take us to the subsequent stage. Scaling an organization requires a special mindset and ability set than constructing one. That’s why we consider Bending Spoons, with its distinctive experience in driving innovation and scaling platforms, is the proper companion to guide Komoot into the long run.”
Bending Spoons CEO and co-founder Luca Ferrari stated that he was “deeply impressed by Komoot’s achievements over the previous 17 years”, including that he was “obsessed with its future development potential”.
“By leveraging the Bending Spoons experience and platform applied sciences, we’re assured we can assist Komoot go from power to power for a few years to come back,” he added.
