According to sources, the Vietnamese proptech firm Propzy has started the process of closing its operations in Vietnam and terminating labour agreements with employees as of September 13.
Co-founder and CEO John Le said in an internal email that the company’s attempts to expand while dealing with the epidemic resulted in large losses that it was unable to make up for because of the country’s ongoing lockdowns.
“Our inability to raise funding amidst the backdrop of an uncertain global environment was the final ‘jab of the knife’ in our young startup,” he said in the email.
The memo further said that employees would get severance compensation and that all wages would be paid in full up to September 13. Propzy has around 200 workers, according to its LinkedIn page, however, it’s unknown how many would be impacted by its shutdown.
Recently, Singapore’s 99 Group and Propzy were in “very early stage” negotiations to merge. It’s unclear, though, if 99 Group is still interested in the transaction.
One of the most significant proptech businesses in Vietnam was called Propzy when it was founded in 2016. The business marketed itself as an end-to-end platform that offers a secure setting for real estate purchases, sales, and rentals.
According to reports, Le told, in June that the firm had to let off 50% of its workforce, mostly in sales, as the business changed course to create new products and will shortly reveal a new investment round.
Investors contributed a total of around US $33 million to the firm, including a US $25 million series of investments. A round in December 2020 that was co-led by Gaw Capital Partners and SoftBank Ventures Asia.
