October 29, 2026
Dear Pipedrivers,
As many of you heard from me at the Company Update this morning, we are proposing the largest structural change in Pipedrive's history.
We are proposing to reduce the size and complexity of the company substantially across all our locations. Fewer teams, fewer layers, and fewer locations. The majority of the roles that exist at Pipedrive today would be affected by these proposals.
These are very difficult decisions and we do not take them lightly. We carefully considered the alternatives. I am acutely aware of what this means for everyone in the team. Your role at Pipedrive represents more than just work: it also means future plans, security and the people you work with every day.
How this works, and when, differs from country to country because employment law differs. In each country we will follow the process that local law requires. Where that includes consultation, no final decisions will be made until it concludes, and we will genuinely consider what you tell us. Over the next two days, we will speak with each of you about whether or not your role is at risk and what happens next.
What Pipedrive will become
We are doing this to become a company that ships faster, understands its customers more deeply, and wins on the strength of its product and the value it delivers. A company with more time for deep work and fewer things standing in the way of it. In many ways, a company that operates like the startup we came from.
What we build. A truly product-led company. We will keep investing in the core CRM, with a sharper focus on quality and reliability. Alongside it, we are building an AI-native sales system for teams. Nova is the beginning. It captures sales conversations, keeps records up to date, recommends next steps and takes on routine work so salespeople can spend more time selling. We believe there is an opportunity to reimagine the software sales teams use and will pursue it.
Who we build it for. Our customers and how we serve them continues to be incredibly important. And we will sharpen our focus on the customers we were founded to serve: salespeople and sales teams.
How we sell. We will build demand first through the strength of our product, supported by brand and content, and reduce our reliance on paid search.
How we operate. Fewer layers, more decisions made closer to the work, and leaders who raise the standards of their craft and contribute directly to the work. One company-wide rhythm, with fewer meetings, more speed, and more time for deep work.
Where we work. We are proposing to bring the company together in fewer locations, with more of our core teams based in the same office.
Why we're proposing this
We have a strong business, built by exceptional people. But the CRM category is changing. How small businesses buy sales software and what they expect from it are evolving rapidly. To continue delivering value for our customers, we need to change how we build, sell and operate.
Historically, Pipedrive grew on three things: we acquired customers efficiently online, we retained them as they grew, and we earned more from them over time by providing more value through our product. The way small businesses discover and buy software has changed. More small businesses are asking AI for recommendations when choosing software. As a result, the free traffic that powered our growth has declined sharply and the paid traffic we bought to replace it costs more. People also expect more from the software itself. Keeping an accurate record of the sales process remains essential but customers increasingly expect software that also captures the work and the data automatically, recommends what to do next and does some of the work for them.
This shift is happening right across the category. Every competitor is trying to navigate the same shift. We believe the companies that respond with focus and speed will emerge stronger. That is the purpose of these proposals.
We have also learned from our recent product releases that we need to be faster, and more responsive to how customer expectations have evolved. We tried to get there incrementally. We invested more in the product and in marketing, we reorganised R&D, changed our ways of working and significantly reduced our operating costs. Those were the right steps, but they were not enough on their own. To build the company we envision, we need a smaller, less complex organisation that focuses on fewer priorities and is more product-led.
What this is not
This is not an exercise in using AI to reduce costs – nor replacing people with AI. AI has changed what our customers want and how they discover our product. That’s why we have to change our strategy, team and operating model. Where AI genuinely changes the shape of a team's work, we will explain how during consultation.
In designing the proposed organisation, we considered each role against the same criteria: its contribution to the strategy, its scope and level within the proposed organisation, and the capabilities it provides. Where a choice has to be made between people in similar roles, it will follow the process and criteria that apply locally, and we will discuss it with those affected.
What happens next
Group and individual conversations begin today. Over the next two days we will meet with each of you to clarify whether or not your role is at risk, and what happens next, so you have the information you need before the weekend. If you are currently on leave, we will contact you directly so you receive the same information.
Everything we can answer is on Toru, our digital HQ, and it stays open – please post your questions there any time. We will publish answers in batches every 24 hours, with the first on Friday. Questions about your individual situation will be answered with you directly.
Arrangements for notice, severance and support vary by country and individual circumstances and, where applicable, form part of the consultation. Every Pipedriver will get those details in writing.
To those whose roles are at risk
If you are leaving or your role is proposed to end, it is the result of the structure we believe the company needs, not a judgement on your value or your contribution. I take responsibility for the strategy we have chosen and these changes. What you have helped build will remain part of the future of Pipedrive, and I am immensely grateful for your contribution to it.
We are committed to supporting you through this. What that looks like will depend on your country and your individual circumstances, but for anyone whose role is proposed to end it includes an enhanced package on top of your contractual entitlements, and professional career transition support. Mental health support is available at any time through a counselling hotline. We’ll also provide meaningful references, and, where you’d like it, introductions from leaders who will make connections on your behalf.
To those who stay
You may watch people you like and respect leave. You may have mixed feelings about staying and concerns about what comes next. That’s completely understandable and we will talk about it openly. The transition will be demanding, and we will make clear choices about what we prioritise and what we stop doing.
Today, our priority is supporting the people at risk and affected by these changes. As the process evolves, we will share how the direction I’ve outlined translates into a concrete plan for how we work.
Finally
Together, you have built one of the world’s largest CRM companies and a product loved by hundreds of thousands of users worldwide. Much of Pipedrive’s future will rest on the work of colleagues who are leaving or may leave. Whatever happens for each of you in the weeks ahead, the value of your contribution does not change. You are part of our DNA, and I am grateful to every one of you.
Paulo Cunha
CEO