Airlift, Pakistan’s most valuable startup, is shutting down, two sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch, following its inability to raise fresh capital.
The startup told employees Tuesday evening that it will be shutting down on Wednesday, according to the sources and a slide obtained by TechCrunch. The startup was attempting to put together a new round as recently as last week but “multiple” investors told the firm that it will take them at least two months to wire the money, the slide said.
“Other investors unwilling to assume the risk of wiring ahead of others,” the slide said.
Airlift operated a quick commerce service in eight Pakistani cities, including Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. Users could order groceries, fresh produce and other essential items, including medicines, as well as sports goods from the Airlift website or app and have it delivered to them in 30 minutes.
The startup raised $85 million in a Series B funding round in August, which valued Airlift at $275 million. Harry Stebbings of 20VC and Josh Buckley of Buckley Ventures led that round.
Airlift founder Usman Gul did not immediately return a request for comment.
The startup says it will complete severance payments to employees in the next four to eight weeks and clear due payments to suppliers and stakeholders. “Teammates are not required to come to work beyond today — access revoke will run byu end-of-day Thursday, followed by communication via personal emails,” the startup said in another...
Read Full Story: https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/12/airlift-shutdown/
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