Pagaya preparing to part with over 100 employees, 15% of workforce
Pagaya preparing to part with over 100 employees, 15% of workforce
The fintech company, which became Israel’s highest-valued company for a short time last year, employs 650 people and announced its first acquisition on Wednesday, purchasing proptech platform Darwin Homes
Israeli fintech company Pagaya is preparing to lay off over 100 employees, accounting for 15% of its workforce, as part of its plan for 2023. Pagaya, which employs 650 people, announced on Wednesday its first acquisition, purchasing U.S.-based proptech platform Darwin Homes.
Austin-based Darwin, which is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pagaya, was started by two founding members of DoorDash, Ryan Broderick and Zach Kinloch, who will continue to lead the integrated platform within Pagaya.
Pagaya went public on Nasdaq at an $8.5 billion valuation via a SPAC merger last June, but its shares quickly plummeted and the company found itself trading at a valuation of around $2 billion. However, beginning on July 20, when it became apparent that there are fewer than one million Pagaya shares publicly available, the company began suffering from what is known as the “GameStop Syndrome”, with a herd of speculators identifying the opportunity to dramatically affect the stock price due to its low liquidity.
The company peaked at a valuation of around $20 billion, becoming Israel’s highest-valued company for a short time, only to suffer a painful fall back down to Earth. Pagaya lost over 95% of its value since peaking at the beginning of August, and currently has a market cap of around $780 million.
“Pagaya is in the midst of completing its strategic planning, including a thorough process assessing the company’s resources for 2023 in relation to its operational needs. When this assessment is complete, we will share its results with our employees and investors,” the company said in a statement.
