Mumbai-based start-up Pocket Aces, which owns youtube channels like Dice Media and Filtercopy, has laid off 25 per cent of its entire workforce as a cost-cutting measure. The development has impacted 50 employees from the production, post-production and content teams.
The company also stated that it is working to develop a new operating model that would help it to rely on freelancers for long-form content.
Founded in 2013, the company manages several youtube channels like Filtercopy, Dice Media, Nutshell and Gobble, the gaming application Loco and a talent management platform Clout. It has claimed to have 8.9 million subscribed users on YouTube and 8.5 million users on Clout.
Since its inception, the company has raised $20 million in funding. Its last round came in January 2021, when it raised $17 million in debt funding from Stride Ventures.
The company is expecting to turn profitable in the financial year (FY) 2024.
Talking about the latest development, Aditi Shrivastava, the CEO of Pocket Aces, said, "It has been a tough decision to part with some of our talented team members and friends. However, we must continue to innovate our operating models, as this is the only way to ensure that we remain agile with changing audience preferences."
"We deeply care about the people leaving us and will provide them with financial support, ongoing health insurance coverage, and help with their transition. We will also continue to work with many of them as freelancers and assist others with outplacements," she added.