In yet another major layoff hitting the idgital asset sector, MEGA, the developer behind the Ethereum scaling network MegaETH, has cut 20% of its staff following months of restructuring. This comes against the backdrop of the firm gearing up to focus on Artificial Intelligence services.
Co-founder Shuyao Kong announced the layoffs on Friday. She did not disclose how many positions were lost or when the layoffs occurred. Kong said the reorganization resulted in departures among staff who worked on the blockchain, wallet, ecosystem support and communications. The founders, early employees and core engineering team remain committed to the organization, she said.
“We’ve brought together new capabilities and reorganized our teams, a process that has resulted in a 20% reduction in our staff,” Kong said. “These are people who helped build $MEGA from its earliest days.”
Earlier in the week, Kong used social media to explain the reasoning behind the change in direction. “We realised that staying a chain-only company felt wrong and would have meant ignoring the biggest opportunity in front of us,” she wrote.
The restructuring comes after the MegaETH Foundation rebranded as MEGA. The organization also made a $30 million commitment from its treasury to build products on the network, starting with AI services.
MEGA describes its approach as “Purified Intelligence.” According to the company, the design is meant to make inference from different providers more interchangeable and allow more suppliers to compete in a global market. MegaETH co-founder Yilong Li said in a statement that pricing gaps can be reduced significantly.
The workforce reduction also marks a clear break from the company’s earlier identity as a blockchain-focused business. With the founders and core engineering team still in place, MEGA is directing its treasury funding and remaining resources toward AI services as the December marketplace launch approaches.
