2022年7月30日

Shelf Engine是西雅图最新一家裁员的初创公司。这家帮助杂货商管理食品订单的公司向GeekWire证实，由于“具有挑战性的经济状况”，该公司解雇了43名员工。该公司没有提供最新的员工人数;去年9月，这家初创公司从一群名人那里筹集了资金，当时已经雇佣了200名员工。据领英称，该公司目前约有150名员工。Shelf Engine首席执行官兼联合创始人斯蒂芬•卡尔布在写给GeekWire的邮件中写道:“由于当前经济形势严峻，Shelf Engine做出了一个非常艰难的决定，决定裁员。”“我们正在努力实现通过自动化减少食物浪费的使命。”在整体经济低迷的情况下，许多公司都被建议削减成本和扩大现金跑道，这通常意味着裁员。今年，Convoy、Flyhomes、Rad Power Bikes、98point6和Esper等西雅图初创公司都进行了几轮裁员。Shelf成立于2016年，利用机器学习来简化杂货商进货的订购过程，旨在降低成本，减少过程中的浪费。 The company reported in September that retailers who use the platform can reduce food waste by as much as 32% while increasing profits. Shelf Engine makes money by marking up products it buys from vendors that it sells to retailers. In September, the startup said that it was being used in at least 3,500 U.S. stores, with large retailers such as Kroger, Target and Whole Foods, as well as the food service company Compass Group named as clients. It also opened a second office in Denver. Shelf Engine co-founders Bede Jordan (left) and Stefan Kalb. (Shelf Engine Photo) Kalb got the idea for the company through another startup he co-founded, Molly’s, which provides healthy food to hospitals, grocery stores, coffee shops, gyms and offices. Kalb noticed the difficulty of building efficient fresh food orders and decided to build software that helped Molly’s purchase the right amount of bulk food to fulfill customer requests. Kalb co-founded Shelf Engine in 2016 with Bede Jordan , a Microsoft veteran who was the principal software engineering lead for the company’s HoloLens team. The leadership team also includes Deborah Alexander , chief operating officer and head of finance. The company has raised around $60 million to date, including a $41 million round in March 2021 and a $2 million round in September led by celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Shaun White and Shawn Mendes. Other investors include General Catalyst, GGV Capital, Foundational Capital, 1984 Ventures, Correlation Ventures, Founders’ Co-op, Soma Capital, Firebolt Ventures, and Initialized Capital. Shelf’s post-money valuation in September was about $180 million, according to PitchBook.