Josh, DailyHunt Parent VerSe Innovation Lays Off 350 Employees

VerSe Innovation, the parent of DailyHunt and Josh, has laid off nearly 350 employees as part of a broader “strategic” restructuring exercise. 

In a statement, a company spokesperson attributed the layoffs to “workforce realignment” to accelerate investments in AI, streamline operations, and focus on long-term priorities and growth.

“To build a more future ready organisation where talent is cross leveraged across business units and resources are directed towards growth segments, the company will streamline its workforce by approximately 350 roles this month,” the spokesperson added. 

VerSe said it will now focus on automating several “manual processes” to increase operational efficiency and building a “more future ready organisation”. 

“VerSe Innovation has been undergoing a strategic transformation to build a more agile, focused, and future-ready organisation. This strategic transformation, is a part of a well thought through comprehensive plan and is geared at accelerating investments in AI, streamlining operations, and taking concerted actions to align the company’s strategy and structure to its long-term priorities and growth,” the spokesperson said.

Going forward, the unicorn has also set its eyes on growing its revenue both “organically” and through strategic acquisitions, with plans for a future listing on the bourses. “Operational and structural efficiencies and a focus on growth drivers, are actions directed to make the company profitability by end of this fiscal year,” the spokesperson added. 

The Many Troubles Of VerSe Innovation

VerSe claimed that it reduced its EBITDA burn by 51% to INR 710 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,448 Cr in FY23 via reductions in service and marketing expenses. It added that FY24 total revenue stood at INR 1,261 Cr. 

However, VerSe’s FY24 financials have been a source of contention for the company. Last month, Inc42 reported that auditor Deloitte flagged weaknesses in the Josh parent’s internal financial controls, including issues with supplier selection, expense provision, revenue recognition, handling of virtual assets, and IT systems control, in its audit report for FY24. 

However, VerSe cofounder and CEO Umang Bedi told Inc42 that the financials were true and fair with a clean report, while conceding that controls within the company were weak. 

Notwithstanding this, VerSe projects over 75% YoY growth in revenues in FY25 on the back of investments in AI-led platforms, such as adtech platform NexVerse.ai, subscription service Magzter, among others. 

Overall, VerSe’s net loss narrowed more than 56% to INR 814.8 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,878.4 Cr in the year ago period. Meanwhile, the company’s operating revenue also declined 8.8% to INR 954.7 Cr in the fiscal under review from INR 1,046.8 Cr in FY23.

Notably, this is not the first time that VerSe Innovation has laid off employees. In November 2022, the company fired around 150 employees, just months after raising a mega $805 Mn round. 

Last year, too, it let go of 50-70 employees as challenges with monetisation continued to pile up. 

With this, VerSe has joined a growing list of startups that have undertaken retrenchments in recent months. In April, used car marketplace Cars24 laid off around 200 employees across various departments as part of a restructuring exercise.

Last month, Inc42 exclusively reported that insurance-focussed SaaS startup Zopper fired around 100 employees since the start of 2025. Conversational AI unicorn Gupshup also axed 200 jobs in a restructuring exercise last month.