Seattle-based interviewing startup Karat on Wednesday confirmed the company has laid off 47 employees.
The company also laid off 47 employees in January. A Karat spokesperson said the layoffs were meant to help the company become profitable faster as well as free up capital for expanding its customer base and building up its Brilliant Black Minds program, which provides free job interviewing training and feedback to current and aspiring Black software engineers in the U.S.
"We are taking several steps to become even more agile and responsive to the needs of our expanding customer base, especially as they navigate the rise of AI in tech," the spokesperson said in a statement. "With this increased focus, we have restructured our product, client service and go-to-market organizations with an impact on 47 employees, all of whom we deeply appreciate for their contributions to Karat and will support through their transitions in the weeks ahead."
Karat didn't provide an updated headcount. The company has more than 390 employees listed on LinkedIn.
Karat was founded in 2014 by Mohit Bhende and Jeffrey Spector. The company provides technology and interviewers to help clients screen engineering talent, with the aim of freeing up clients' own engineers to focus on their core work instead of interviewing candidates. The company also provides analytics and candidate recommendations. Its clients include Ford, Indeed and American Express.
Karat in 2021 raised a $110 million Series C round and hit a value of $1.1 billion. In April 2022, the company received support from tennis superstar Serena Williams to grow the Brilliant Black Minds program.
Multiple local "unicorns," or companies with a value of at least $1 billion, have laid off employees in recent weeks. Seattle-based freight network startup Convoy, last valued at $3.8 billion, on Monday confirmed it laid off an undisclosed number of employees in its fourth round of layoffs in just over a year. Seattle-based sale software company Highspot, last valued at $3.5 billion, laid off about 140 employees earlier this month.
