Lighter Capital cut half of its workforce in another round of layoffs.

The Seattle-based “alternative VC” firm recently laid off 22 people, a company spokesperson confirmed. There are 23 employees remaining.

Lighter Capital slashed 22% of its workforce in a separate round of cuts this past April as it looked to curb expenses amid the pandemic.

The company employed 80 people as of January.

Lighter Capital helps entrepreneurs raise funding without going the traditional route of venture capital. Since launching a decade ago, it has invested more than $200 million in 350-plus companies across the U.S., using an innovative process known as “revenue based financing” (RBF) that lets early-stage startups raise cash without giving up equity or board seats.

The company in January inked a $100 million deal with digital finance firm HCG Fund Management for what CEO Thor Culverhouse described as a “lending vehicle.”

“We believe that in the wake of this terrible situation, we can help the startup community continue to grow and prosper,” Culverhouse wrote in a March 31 blog post. “We’ve adapted quickly to ensure there is no disruption in our financing process, and we are proactively embracing virtual meetings as a safe way to connect with our team.”

Lighter was planning to grow its geographical presence into international markets and explore other forms of debt it can provide to companies. It expanded to Canada earlier this year.

Culverhouse said the firm also intended to raise an equity round later this year to help fund operations. It has raised $20 million in equity to date.

Lighter received between $1 and $2 million from the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program.

Lighter announced Patricia Elliott as chief sales officer and Kevin Fink as chief technology officer this past February.

More than 500 tech startups have axed nearly 70,000 jobs worldwide since March 11.

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