Amidst the global edtech industry's ongoing downturn, online math learning platform Cuemath, backed by Sequoia Capital, has announced a restructuring of its management and layoffs of employees. Founder Manan Khurma will resume his position as the full-time CEO.

As part of its restructuring efforts, online math learning platform Cuemath has laid off approximately 100 employees, according to a spokesperson for the company. Meanwhile, Vivek Sunder, the current CEO and former COO of Swiggy, will step down from his full-time position and take up an advisory role with the top management team at Cuemath. 

In a LinkedIn post on May 8, founder Manan Khurma announced that Sunder will concentrate on acquisition funnels and go-to-market strategies. “Given the need to deeply focus on building a great learning and consumer experience, I will get back into the role of running the company day-to-day as CEO,” Khurma said in the LinkedIn post.

“In addition, some functions and roles will also be rationalised, to reflect our increased focus on learning and consumer experience and retention. While this will impact some talented people who have contributed a lot to Cuemath, we are committed to supporting our affected colleagues with everything they need to ensure a smooth transition into the next phase of their professional journey,” Khurma further added.

After raising nearly $60 million in funding led by Alpha Wave, which doubled its valuation to $407 million and made it a soon-to-be-unicorn, online math learning platform Cuemath has laid off employees and restructured its management. The move occurred one year after the funding round. Cuemath's investors include Alpha Wave and Sequoia Capital, as well as Lightrock India, CapitalG (Google's independent growth fund), Manta Ray, and Unitus.

Cuemath's consolidated loss for the fiscal year ending March 2022 increased to Rs 217 crore, as per the company's recent report. Despite a 62 per cent surge in operating revenue from the previous year, expenses rose by 65 per cent, resulting in the widening of its loss. The company spent almost Rs 128 crore solely on employee costs.

Cuemath was established in 2013 by Jagjit Rai Khurma and Manan Khurma, offering an after-school online math program for K-12 students. The company claims to have courses certified by Grant Thornton, as well as accreditation from STEM and Google for Education. The compay has raised approximately $130 million in equity and debt funding to date.

As schools and physical tuition centers reopen, the demand for online learning has slowed down, leading edtech companies to restructure their management decisions and lay off employees. Cuemath is the latest company to join this trend. Edtech firms have also taken other measures to cut costs, such as shutting down non-core verticals and reducing advertising expenditure.