\n<\/p>\n
Maju Kuruvilla is no longer CEO of one-click checkout company <\/span>Bolt<\/span><\/a>. He is replaced by <\/span>Justin Grooms, Bolt\u2019s global head of sales, who is now interim CEO, <\/span>according to Grooms\u2019 LinkedIn profile<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Kuruvilla<\/span> didn\u2019t have much to say about the change but did confirm it both on <\/span>LinkedIn<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>X<\/span><\/a>, by posting, simply \u201cOne-Click Checkedout from <\/span><\/span>@bolt<\/a><\/span>! Onwards\u201d with a rocket emoji.<\/span>\u00a0(He declined to comment further.) Arjun Sethi, a co-founder of the venture firm <\/span>Tribe Capital<\/span><\/a>, commented on his post on LinkedIn, noting that it was \u201camazing working with\u201d the executive.<\/span><\/p>\n The Bolt board reportedly \u201cvoted to remove him this weekend,\u201d<\/span> The Information<\/span><\/a> reported.<\/span><\/p>\n Kuruvilla, the former Amazon executive took over as CEO in <\/span>January 2022 after founder Ryan Breslow famously stepped down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Grooms joined Bolt five years ago after serving in executive positions at companies, including <\/span>Ultraleap (formerly Leap Motion), <\/span>Datron World Communications and Qualcomm, his LinkedIn says. <\/span>The company told The Information that the CEO role had changed and said that Kuruvilla\u2019s departure was \u201camicable\u201d but provided no further details.<\/span><\/p>\n Bolt is no stranger to controversy. Its then-27-year-old founder, <\/span>Breslow<\/span><\/a>, started the company after dropping out of Stanford. He stepped down as CEO in January 2022, and was generally known for his very outspoken rants.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In <\/span>an interview with TechCrunch\u2019s Connie Loizos<\/span><\/a> that same month, he said the company had signed roughly 10 major deals in the second half of 2021, with each being bigger \u201cthan any that Bolt has signed in the company\u2019s history previously.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But then the company faced some struggles. Bolt <\/span>was at one time the subject of a <\/span>federal probe<\/span><\/a> involving Breslow and <\/span>whether the company violated any securities laws during fundraising in 2021. That is when Bolt was seeking a <\/span>$355 million Series E round<\/span><\/a> that valued the company at $11 billion. The company <\/span>raised around $1 billion<\/span><\/a> in total venture-backed funding.<\/span><\/p>\n And there were several rounds of layoffs, including one in<\/span> May 2022<\/span><\/a> when it was reported at least 185 employees, or one-third of its workforce, were let go. Then another in <\/span>early 2023<\/span><\/a> and one <\/span>in December 2023<\/span><\/a> that affected 29% of its staff.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In October, Kuruvilla, then CEO, told TechCrunch that the SEC was no longer looking into Bolt and that it <\/span>was working toward profitability<\/span><\/a> and had some new features, like improving merchandise returns and providing personalized experiences around its universal shopper network, in the pipeline. The company announced partnerships with retailers, including Saks OFF 5TH, Shinola, Filson, Lafayette 148 and Toys \u201cR\u201d Us, in November.<\/span><\/p>\n More recently, Bolt signed a<\/span> deal with Checkout<\/span><\/a> in which Bolt became Checkout.com\u2019s \u201cexclusive one-click checkout provider\u201d and Checkout.com becoming \u201cBolt\u2019s preferred payment partner.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Want more fintech news in your inbox? Sign up for TechCrunch Fintech <\/span><\/i>here<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Want to reach out with a tip? Email us at maryann@techcrunch.com or <\/span><\/i>chall.techcrunch@gmail.com<\/span><\/i><\/a> or send us a message on Signal at 408.204.3036. You can also send a note to the whole TechCrunch crew at tips@techcrunch.com. For more secure communications, <\/span><\/i>click here to contact us<\/span><\/i><\/a>, which includes SecureDrop (<\/span><\/i>instructions here<\/span><\/i><\/a>) and links to encrypted messaging apps.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n