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HeadSpin

Software testing / dev toolsUSA
✂️ Markdown
Peak $1.1 BillionToday
~-73%
from peak
  1. 🦄
    Became a unicorn
    2020
  2. 📈
    Peak valuation
    $1.1 Billion ’20
  3. 💔
    Became a Unitard
    2020
  4. 💸
    Last valuation
    ~$297M
Current status
Valuation cut from $1.1B to ~$300M in a 2020 recapitalization after its founder was charged with fraud.

How it happened

HeadSpin built a platform for testing mobile and web apps on real devices worldwide, and hit a $1.1B valuation in February 2020 with backing from Iconiq, Tiger Global and others. The numbers turned out to be fabricated: founder-CEO Manish Lachwani had inflated annual recurring revenue to about $80M against roughly $10M actual. An internal review slashed the valuation to about $300M, returned some 70% of capital to recent investors and ousted Lachwani, who was later convicted of fraud. Glassdoor reviews from the years since describe the aftermath: leadership turnover and unclear product direction, with reviewers noting that much of its best talent was laid off in cost cuts or moved on.

Employee accounts paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗. See our methodology.

Source: SEC / CNBC / TechCrunch ($1.1B valuation Feb 2020; CEO Manish Lachwani charged (later convicted) with inflating ARR to ~$80M vs ~$10M actual; valuation revised to ~$300M, ~70% of capital returned to Series B/C investors)

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