Jibo Inc., the Boston-based maker of the $899 social robot that made it onto Time magazine’s front cover last November as one of the best inventions of 2017, made layoffs—again.
After a number of employees were laid off in December, the startup confirmed on Monday additional layoffs, which the company qualified as a “significant” reduction.
“The company has implemented a significant reduction in force and other cost-cutting measures to allow ourselves additional time to secure additional funding or pursue an exit. The company will continue to sell and support Jibo’s during this time period,” a company’s spokesperson wrote in an email.
A former employee of the company, who asked to remain anonymous, said in a phone interview that the decision of laying off more workers was reached in the last week or two. The current headcount, the source continued, is five to ten employees working out of Jibo’s Boston office, as the company’s second office in California shut down “months ago” and it was home to around 15 employees at its peak.
Jibo had around 100 employees before the December layoffs, the source said. As of Monday afternoon, Jibo’s office in Redwood City, Calif., is marked as “permanently closed” on Google Maps.
The November launch of its eponymous robot came for Jibo after years of delays and missed expectations. Before the end of the year, the company quietly replaced its CEO and made the undisclosed number of layoffs we mentioned earlier in this story. It also added new features to its social robot, including Jibo Music and, more recently, Personal Report. Founded in 2012, Jibo raised more than $70 million in funding.
In the wake of recent cost-cutting and layoffs, the company still continues to receive press – TechCrunch referred to it as the “latest example of a clear phenomenon” in a June, 3rd profile – and conduct press outreach, with a recent release touting Jibo’s new personalization report feature sent at the end of May.
Jibo has yet to respond to clarifying questions on total number of layoffs. As of Monday, a voice message at the company’s office said that the mailbox couldn’t receive any more messages.
