Taxfix cut 120 jobs (20%) in 2023, two months after buying Steuerbot

Berlin mobile app that helps consumers file tax returns, offering accounting services

After a $1B valuation, Taxfix could stay independent by cutting costs and focusing on sustainable growth and profitability instead of raising more

$220 million Series D in April 2022, from investors including Teachers' Venture Growth, Index Ventures, Valar Ventures, Creandum and Redalpine

Taxfix reached a $1 billion valuation in 2022 on the back of its popular tax-return app, closing a $220M Series D in April 2022. Two months before the layoffs, it announced the acquisition of Stuttgart-based tax chatbot Steuerbot, which it said it would run as an independent, complementary subsidiary.

On Tuesday 30 May 2023, Taxfix told staff it was cutting 20% of its workforce, 120 employees, in a restructuring to cut costs. A spokesperson said the Steuerbot deal created synergies that raise efficiency, and the macro funding environment meant it must prioritise sustainable growth and profitability. Open roles had also disappeared from its careers page, which suggested a hiring freeze.

Taxfix did not comment on its runway or on whether it was raising money. As of 2023-05-30, the company said it was focused on becoming an independent company for the long term.

The funding environment dried up after Taxfix's $220M Series D a year earlier

Taxfix had bought Steuerbot two months earlier and cited synergies as the reason it could run with fewer staff

The company said it needed to prioritise sustainable growth and profitability over expansion

TechCrunch noted startups raised at top valuations were now expected to conserve cash and cut costs

A round raised at a peak valuation commits a company to growth-mode spending; when the next round does not come, buying a rival and then cutting staff is how it moves to profitability.

As of 2023-05-30, Taxfix had cut 120 jobs, 20% of staff, appeared to freeze hiring, and had not disclosed its runway or whether it was raising new funds.