The co-founder of digital telecom provider Circles is stepping down from the company’s management team, part of an internal staffing overhaul aimed at shedding costs after years of attempts to take on Singapore’s incumbent services.
(Bloomberg) — The co-founder of digital telecom provider Circles is stepping down from the company’s management team, part of an internal staffing overhaul aimed at shedding costs after years of attempts to take on Singapore’s incumbent services.
Abhishek Gupta, who helped build the company over the past seven years, will now take on a non-executive role and it’s unclear what his future duties include, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. While Gupta never formally adopted the CEO’s title, he was regarded as the public face of a company that once sought to take on Singtel in Singapore, and oversaw its business-facing arm Circles X. Co-founder Rameez Ansar was identified as chief executive officer at an industry event last month.
Gupta’s sidelining, which hasn’t been previously reported, underscores the upheaval underway at a startup that once harbored ambitions of disrupting the staid, carefully controlled Singaporean wireless industry. The management reshuffle is part of a new project titled “Brave New World,” or a move by top investors to give Ansar 180 days to turn the company around, the people said.
Under the project, announced to staff early May, Circles has steadily cut jobs across departments including human resources, engineering, marketing and its business-facing arm Circles X, the people said. Some other key executives, including its chief growth officer, have left the company, according to an internal memo reviewed by Bloomberg News.
A Circles spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment, and Gupta didn’t have an immediate comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.
Launched in 2016, Circles offers digital mobile services including voice, data, roaming and international calls. Hailed as a disruptor to the traditional telco market, Circles initially grabbed market share from incumbents like Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., StarHub Ltd. and M1 Ltd. by offering customers lower prices, cheaper data, no-contract plans and the freedom to manage their own mobile plans digitally.
Early on, it splashed out on bold marketing campaigns, mocking established rivals for their long-term contracts, poor customer service and expensive data options. The company said it reached 5% market share in Singapore in 2019 and also has operations in Taiwan, Indonesia and Japan. Warburg Pincus LLC said it made a “substantial investment” in Circles in 2020, without disclosing the financial terms.
Competitors soon slashed their prices and launched similar mobile plans to Circles, and several have upgraded their digital offerings to allow customers to manage their mobile plans through an app. As it struggled to tackle the intensifying competition, Circles tried to diversify by launching products including an events app which allowed users to book movie tickets, as well as a software platform to allow players to launch their own digital telco.
Southeast Asian internet companies are facing growing pressure from investors to slash expenses and turn profitable amid an uncertain macroeconomic climate. Singapore’s Grab Holdings Ltd. and Sea Ltd. have eliminated thousands of jobs, fighting to reduce costs and win back investors in a climate where growth is potentially slowing amid a higher rate of inflation and rising interest rates.
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