Silicon Valley Startups Not Impervious To Coronavirus: Report

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — The economic impact of the coronavirus crisis has so far mostly been felt on Main Street, with brick and mortar stores and restaurants struggling to stay afloat amid shelter-in-place orders and social distancing guidelines.

But aside from some of the tech giants who have actually turned a profit amid the pandemic, Silicon Valley has not been impervious, The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Infinilytics, a San Jose-based artificial intelligence startup providing fraud detection and litigation services to insurance companies, is an example of a Silicon Valley company that has been hit especially hard.

Investors pulled their money from the company in the early days of the coronavirus crisis and two of its clients went out of business, according to the report.

Sri Ramaswamy, the company’s founder, told The Mercury news that she’s struggling to make ends meet. Layoffs are inevitable and the company can’t attract new clients soon, she said.

“Silicon Valley is a mirage,” Ramaswamy told The Mercury News.

“People think there’s lots of money, but there are only certain people, certain companies, who get access to this money.”

Read more in The San Jose Mercury News