Parallel to Shashua's departure: Moovit lays off a third of its employees

The public transport app operator Moovit, owned by Mobileye, is launching a layoff process in which about a third of the company's approximately 200 employees will leave. The layoffs come in parallel with yesterday's announcement by Mobileye CEO Amnon Shashua regarding his departure from the position after 27 years.

Intel acquired Moovit in 2020 for $915 million and placed it under Mobileye. In April, Calcalist reported that Mobileye is seeking to put Moovit up for sale and has hired the investment bank Barclays to find a buyer.

Moovit was founded in 2011 by Nir Erez, Roi Bick, and Yaron Avron, and launched the app in 2012. Until its sale, the company raised about $134 million. Its last funding round, held in February 2018, gave it a valuation of $550 million (post-money). Its shareholders included the venture capital fund Gemini, actor Ashton Kutcher, the Barkat brothers, the American venture capital fund Sequoia, Waze co-founder Uri Levine, and the Vintage fund.

In its early years, Moovit focused on a free service for end-users, but later expanded its business model to offer cities and authorities technological solutions for mapping and optimizing public transport systems. The company, operating from its headquarters in Ness Ziona, holds one of the world's largest databases in the field of public transport. It also bases part of its business model on selling anonymous information about travel patterns to local authorities for fleet and infrastructure planning.

In a letter sent by management to employees, it was written:

"As part of our strategy, we are increasing investment in Moovit's consumer activity, with a stronger emphasis on accelerating growth and expanding the global user base, to strengthen both subscription and advertising revenues. To support this direction, we are shifting budgets to the user acquisition area. At the same time, Moovit's strategic decision to expand into the robotaxi market strengthens its strategic importance within Mobileye. We will continue to invest in initiatives that strengthen this collaboration and position us to succeed in this long-term opportunity."