Omni To Make An Acquisition Talk With Coinbase To Deal With The Layoff

The leading cryptocurrency platform Coinbase and physical storage-turned-rentals startup Omni is preparing for a deal. As Omni is dealing with a layoff, the discussion will focus on the cryptocurrency company to hire the startup.

Coinbase is to acquire Omni for its engineering talent to work on the Coinbase Earn product. Even though there is no official release from both sides, let’s see how things will turn around through the deal. Yet, some employees will be interviewed at Coinbase today.

Launched in 2014 as on-demand storage for rental services, it started service at the end of 2019. It had experimented with different strategies throughout its expansion in the United States. The startup founded by Aaron Wiener, Adam Dexter, and Thomas McLeod. 

Recent developments and a shift in the business style made the company remarkable in the industry. The new peer-to-peer rental model connects supply with demand in a more standard marketplace model. 

The new strategy was introduced along with its expansion from San Francisco and Portland into Los Angeles and New York. It allowed the customers to borrow GoPros, strollers, drills, guitars, and more for pickup and drop-off from more than 100 stores. 

Omni has a pretty good financial back up from the earlier investments. Even though, the business is lagging in recent months without enough users paying money to rent the items.

Last year, it had raised $25 million from cryptocurrency company Ripple. Additionally, Omni had raised a total of $35M from investors such as Highland, Flybridge, and Founders Fund.

The new cloud storage strategy in the rental industry attracted several capitals. Yet, the company reached a soft landing due to the lack of perceiving customer behavior.

Managing such a complicated business also led the startup to this situation. The upcoming deal expected to make a significant change in the current scenario.