Velan Studios has warned that it could cut over a third of its workforce after a “major project” was suddenly cancelled.
06.03.2024 - 20:45 / techcrunch.com
Web3-enabled fantasy sports platform Sorare laid off 22 employees based in its New York office in February. The move comes as the startup wants certain teams to be concentrated at the company’s Paris headquarters to improve communication and efficiency, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.
“As we plan for our next stage of growth, Sorare has made the decision to centralize some of our functions at our Paris HQ,” Nicolas Julia, the co-founder and CEO of Sorare, told TechCrunch through email. “This primarily affects our product development team as we believe that bringing that team together in the same space in Paris will allow them to collaborate more effectively as they continue to build best in class products across our football, baseball and basketball offerings.”
An additional 11 employees in the New York office were asked to relocate to Paris, a source familiar with the matter said. The company will backfill most of these laid-off roles in Paris, according to Julia, with plans to hire more than 20 roles in the next six months.
Sorare is not shutting down its New York office. It will keep certain teams there like those that work with U.S. customers or on its U.S. brand partnerships with leagues like the MLB and NBA, according to Julia. Sorare’s partnerships with these sports leagues are locked in for several years, a source added.
While a source familiar with the matter said that these layoffs were not financially driven, the source did add that like many other web3 companies, the time horizon for how long it will take Sorare to reach its growth goals is longer than it originally thought. Sorare’s users can buy and sell NFT cards from other players on its platforms, although Sorare primarily makes its money by issuing and selling new cards. Sorare saw $200 million in user transaction volume in 2023, a source familiar with the situation said. The company declined to say if it was profitable or what runway it had left.
Sorare hasn’t raised capital since its $680 million Series B round in 2021, which valued the company at $4 billion. According to secondary data platforms, Sorare hasn’t been garnering much interest from investors there. To be fair, the declining interest isn’t strictly an issue for Sorare — web3 companies have largely fallen out of favor with investors. Startups in the category raised $7 billion in 2023, according to Crunchbase data, a drop of 74% from 2022’s $26 billion. For context, overall venture funding dropped 38% in the same timeframe.
Web3 companies focused on gaming have struggled to find meaningful traction. Last month, video game–focused VCs told TechCrunch that the market for web3 games turned out to be significantly smaller than some investors had hoped. This has
Velan Studios has warned that it could cut over a third of its workforce after a “major project” was suddenly cancelled.
Velan Studios, an American video game studio that previously worked on Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, has given layoff notices to a third of its staff, the company has revealed. The developer has worked with other big companies and brands in the past, such as Electronic Arts and Hot Wheels.
New York developer Velan Studios is cutting jobs as part of a reorganisation.
Velan Studios has announced that it is in the early stages of reorganisation, and has confirmed that layoffs will most likely occur as a result.
The Amazon Big Spring sale has one of the best PlayStation deals we’ve seen in a little while. Hit the button below and you can buy a PlayStation 5 with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 for just $449 thereby saving $111 off the regular price of $560. This is the latest slim model so there’s nothing to lose here. If you haven’t yet enjoyed the fun that a PlayStation 5 brings, check it out now with this awesome deal. Bear in mind that the deal will be ending pretty soon.
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