New Delhi, May 28 (IANS): Homegrown virtual events platform Airmeet has laid off nearly 75 employees, about 30 per cent of its workforce, that affected staff in various departments.

According to leading startup news portal Inc42, the layoffs impacted sales, marketing, tech and operations departments at the Bengaluru-based startup.

The layoffs affected employees in India, the US and Europe.

Airmeet CEO Lalit Mangal said in an internal email that lower marketing budgets and rapid commoditization of the virtual event category led to the decision.

Backed by Sequoia Capital, the platform recently raised $35 million in its Series B funding round from Prosus Ventures, Sistema Asia Fund.

"With drastically reduced marketing budgets everywhere and rapid commoditization of the virtual event category, our steadfast execution is not yielding the needed outcomes for retaining a healthy financial state," Mangal wrote in the email.

He said, "Airmeet has become a lean and nimble company again to build the new future of digital engagement for communities and companies."

The platform has offered two months' salary as severance pay for employees in India and accelerated the vesting of all ESOPs options until June 30 for those impacted, according to reports.

It will also extend health insurance coverage for these employees until August 18.

For affected employees in the US, Airmeet will offer severance pay in compliance with local regulations.

Airmeet is an online meeting and event hosting platform, where instead of simply broadcasting the event, participants can connect with other event attendees for online interactions.

Meanwhile, at least 27,000 tech employees at Indian startups have lost their jobs since the funding winter crept in last year, and the list is only growing.

Nearly 26,868 employees have been handed over pink slips by 98 startups, including unicorns led by the edtech majors. At least 22 edtech startups have slashed 9,781 jobs to date.