This Is The End For Anki’s Adventurous Journey With Toy Robots

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Anki, the startup responsible for adorable robotics, is shutting its doors and will terminate nearly 200 workers on Wednesday. CEO Boris Sofman broke the news to staff today (April 30), Recode reports. In a statement given to Engadget, the business said, “A significant financial deal at a late stage fell through with a strategic investor, and we were not able to reach an agreement.”

CEO Boris Sofman told his staff they would be eliminated on Wednesday and near to 200 employees would get paid through the week of separation, according to people informed about the issue. Sofman had told employees a few days before that the company was attempting to find more money following a new form of funding fell through at the last moment, exposing the organization’s future.

The last round raised by Anki before the Series 1 agreement proved to be a Series D. According to prior experience covering distressed Andreessen Horowitz portfolio companies, there’s a great reason to think that Ann’s investors re-capitalized the company in 2018.

Anki stated last fall that it “approached” $100 million in earnings in 2017 and anticipated to exceed that figure in 2018. So this is not some small lemonade stand to shut down.

The management had previously told workers it was fielding acquisition interest from companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Comcast.

The business said in an announcement to Recode that it was abandoned”without significant funding to support a hardware and software business and bridge to our long-term product roadmap.”

Here is the Anki’s full statement about their closing:

“It is with a heavy heart to announce that Anki will be letting go of our employees, effective Wednesday. Despite our past successes, we pursued every financial avenue to fund our future product development and expand on our platforms. A significant financial deal at a late stage fell through with a strategic investor, and we were not able to reach an agreement. We’re doing our best to take care of every single employee and their families, and our management team continues to explore all options available.”

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