ChaCha, the personalized mobile answers service, has secured $12 million in new funding. At the same time, the company is laying off almost a third of its staff.
ChaCha Changes
The $12 million, part of a Series D round of funding, will be used to help ChaCha expand its sales force. The company recently opened a new satellite office in New York.
ChaCha is also, however, “streamlining and restructuring itself to preserve its cash.” That streamlining is said to include about 25 job cuts, including some high-ranking executives, along with numerous salary cuts for remaining employees. ChaCha cites “increased operating efficiencies” as being the reason behind the decision.
ChaCha claims 30 million monthly impressions, with 3.6 million users. The service allows you to send a text message or Web-based message asking any question, and — within a matter of minutes — an actual person will find an answer and respond. ChaCha formed a “strategic relationship” to have its services branded with AT&T this past December.
ChaCha has been around since January of 2008.
