NFTs creator Yuga Labs joins crypto sector layoffs spree amid challenges

Reportedly, in an email sent on Friday, the recently appointed CEO Daniel Alegre informed employees about the changes, stating that his six-month tenure at the company revealed the need for streamlining.

“I realized very quickly that there were a number of projects that, while well-intentioned, either spread the team too thin or required execution expertise beyond our core competencies,” said Alegre in the email, which was published online by Yuga. 

As per the agency report, a Yuga spokesperson chose not to disclose the exact number of affected employees. Co-founder Greg Solano, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), mentioned that the company still retains over 120 staff members. Yuga, established in 2021, reached a valuation of $4 billion following a $450 million funding round in March the previous year.

Alegre, a former president of the gaming industry heavyweight Activision Blizzard, pointed out that the company had experienced challenges with the launches of its video game ventures due to its in-house development approach. He also highlighted a lack of significant progress in the development of Otherside, the planned metaverse platform that was initially announced in 2022.

This announcement comes in the wake of a string of layoffs within the crypto industry. Just last Thursday, crypto hardware company Ledger reduced its workforce by 12%. Likewise, this month has seen several other projects in the NFT and decentralized finance sectors take actions to downsize their staff or cease operations, including Proof, the creator of Moonbirds, and the lending startup Yield Protocol, which is backed by Paradigm.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)

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Updated: 11 Oct 2023, 12:25 PM IST