Ava Labs, the company behind the Avalanche blockchain platform, has announced that it has laid off 12% of its staff, mainly in the marketing department, as part of a strategic shift to focus on the growth of the Avalanche ecosystem. The news was confirmed by Ava Labs CEO Emin Gün Sirer on Twitter on Monday, November 6, 2023.
Reallocating resources to double down on the growth of the Avalanche ecosystem
Sirer wrote that the decision was made to
“reallocate resources to double down on the growth of our firm and the Avalanche ecosystem.” He added that the company is “fortunate to have significant runway and resources at our disposal” and that it will “capture the speed and energy of a small, nimble team.” He also thanked the affected employees for their contributions and wished them well in their future endeavors.
The layoffs come amid a prolonged crypto bear market that has affected many projects and companies in the industry. According to Bloomberg, Ava Labs had raised $230 million in a private token sale in September 2022, valuing the company at $1.8 billion. However, the price of AVAX, the native token of Avalanche, has dropped by more than 80% since its all-time high of $68.30 in February 2022, according to CoinGecko.
Ava Labs will continue to showcase “incredible potential” of Avalanche
Ava Labs is not the only crypto company that has resorted to layoffs in recent times. Last week, NFT marketplace OpenSea slashed its staff by 50%, citing the need for “significant organizational and operating changes.” Other notable examples include Celsius, BlockFi, and Kraken, which have also cut their workforce in the past year.
Despite the challenges, Sirer expressed optimism about the future of Avalanche, which he described as “the fastest, most scalable, and most decentralized smart contracts platform in the world.” He said that the company will continue to invest in the development of the platform, as well as support the projects and communities that are building on it. He also hinted at some upcoming announcements that will showcase the “incredible potential” of Avalanche.
