AI Startup Taiger Shutters SG Headquarters, Liquidates Local Holdings

Taiger, a Singapore-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup, announced it will close its local office and liquidate its holdings after amounting debts that it can no longer pay.

According to a regulatory filing first spotted by The Business Times, the company's liabilities reached S$9.8 million while its assets were only S$6.9 million in the financial year of 31 December 2020 – close to a S$3 million differential. It additionally recorded an operating cashflow of S$6.8 million and a net loss of S$12.5 million in the same period.

The liquidation has forced Taiger to lay off over 80 of its employees in the country. The company did, however, say it plans to offer assistance for its staff to find new opportunities. Taiger's Chief Executive Officer Sinuhe Arroyo, Chief Technology Officer Guillermo Infante and Chief Operating Officer Stephen Watts will remain based in Singapore.

“The cessation is part of an ongoing restructuring effort to improve Taiger’s focus in the intelligent document processing (IDP) category as well as improve resource utilisation across its other offices,” said Stephen Watts. The company will continue to operate its offices in Madrid and Mexico as it looks to shift its focus to the European and Latin American markets.

Alvarez & Marsal were appointed as provisional liquidators by the company. A creditors’ meeting is scheduled to be held on April 29.

Taiger was founded in 2009 to provide businesses with AI-powered solutions that can automate and scale operations, which in turn drives productivity and costs savings up. It has reportedly raised several rounds of funding since it first started operating. The most notable of which is a US$25 million Series B round in 2019 that saw the company market value reach a US$110 million. SGInnovate, a private venture capital organisation owned by the Singapore government, is among the company's investors.

Taiger, a Singapore-based AI startup, announced it will close its local office and liquidate its holdings after amounting debts that it can no longer pay.
The liquidation will force the company to cut the over 80 staff members it has employed locally.
The company said its Madrid and Mexican offices will continue to operate as it looks to focus on the Latin American and European markets.