New Delhi, July 24: AI startup Cohere has reportedly laid off approximately 20 employees following a funding round of USD 500 million. The decision has drawn attention as layoffs usually occur during financial difficulty, however, the job cuts are said to be implemented to streamline operations, stay competitive in the industry and to strengthen its market position.

As per a report of CNBC, AI startup Cohere lays off its employees after a USD 500 million funding round. The  Cohere layoffs are intended to align its employees with its evolving business goals post-funding. Despite the funding round, the company found it necessary to make these job cuts for long-term sustainability and to better allocate resources towards its core projects. As per a report of Fortune, Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez said the layoffs were a “necessary step to ensure that we have the right people in place to remain highly competitive and at the forefront of the industry.” BBC Layoffs: British Broadcaster To Lay Off Around 500 Employees Amid Cost-Cutting Measures; Check Details.

The startup based in Toronto is considered one of the main competitors of OpenAI, Meta, Google, Anthropic and Mistral. Cohere has around 400 employees. After securing a funding round of USD 500 million from investors like Oracle, AMD, Salesforce and Nvidia, the artificial intelligence startup founded by former Google AI researchers and supported by Nvidia, has been valued at USD 5.5 billion. The funding and valuation highlight the potential and growth of the company in the field of artificial intelligence. Tech Layoffs 2024: More Than 1,00,000 Employees Laid Off Since January 2024, Around 41,000 People Lost Their Jobs in June Alone, Says Report.

Instead of creating chatbots for consumers, Cohere’s focus lies in applying generative AI to businesses. However, Cohere is also hiring new personnel across several departments including customer operations, partnerships, revenue, sales and marketing, product design and modeling despite the recent layoffs. It suggests that the company is gradually escalating its employment levels in strategic sectors needed to maintain its business model as well as meet the demands of enterprise clients.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 24, 2024 10:48 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).