Under Fire For Multiple Layoffs, FarEye’s FY22 Loss Widens 2.6X YoY To INR 153 Cr

Microsoft-backed SaaS logistics startup FarEye saw its standalone loss widen 161% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 153.7 Cr in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) against a year-ago loss of INR 58.7 Cr. 

The Delhi/NCR-based startup’s revenue from operations surged to INR 101.17 Cr in FY22, up 53% YoY. However, FarEye’s total income jumped more than 64% to INR 131.5 Cr from INR 80.13 Cr in FY21. 

The enterprisetech startup largely earns its revenue from offering software solutions to companies.

The biggest bummer appeared to be the total expenses, which more than doubled to INR 285.2 Cr in FY22 from INR 138.9 Cr in FY21. Of these, employee benefit expenses accounted for a big chunk of expenses. The startup spent INR 164.1 Cr towards employee expenses in FY22, up 85% YoY from INR 88.4 Cr in FY21.

However, it was FarEye’s ‘other expenses’ that caused maximum heartburn for the enterprisetech startup, as they rose 2.52X YoY to INR 116.5 Cr in FY22. 

A breakdown of data revealed that legal services-related payments accounted for INR 59 Cr worth of expenses, while advertising costs rose 157% YoY to INR 8 Cr in FY22. 

It is pertinent to note that FarEye logged a consolidated net loss of INR 232.5 Cr in FY22, up 3X from INR 79.8 Cr reported in FY21. 

Founded in 2013 by Kushal Nahata, Gaurav Srivastava and Gautam Kumar, FarEye offers automation solutions for logistics companies. These enterprisetech offerings enable logistics companies to schedule jobs, monitor execution and analyse performance in real-time.

The startup has so far raised $150 Mn in total funding across multiple rounds, including the mega $100 Mn Series E round in 2021. At the end of FY22, FarEye had more than 150 customers in 35 countries and processed more than 100 Mn monthly transactions. Its network of products catered to 25,000+ drivers and an integrated network of 20 Lakh vehicles. 

Some of its biggest clients include names such as Domino’s Pizza, Gordon, Central Group, and Zalora, among others. 

The mourning losses come at a time when FarEye has been in the eye of the storm for multiple layoffs. In June last year, the startup sacked nearly 250 employees across its India, North America, and Europe offices. 

Eight months later in February 2023, the SaaS startup fired 90 employees in the second round of layoffs, impacting the tech, product, HRBP, and sales verticals. 

The numbers pertain to FY22 and do not include numbers for the ongoing fiscal year, which has seen a host of challenges including the funding winter, worsening market conditions and a squeeze on SaaS spending at the enterprise level. 

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how well FarEye emerges from the fallout, but, for now, the company’s mounting losses do not paint a rosy picture.