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Tag: TechCrunch 2023 Recap

  • A comprehensive list of 2025 tech layoffs | TechCrunch

    The tech layoff wave is still kicking in 2025. Last year saw more than 150,000 job cuts across 549 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. So far this year, more than 22,000 workers have been the victim of reductions across the tech industry, with a staggering 16,084 cuts taking place in February alone.

    We’re tracking layoffs in the tech industry in 2025 so you can see the trajectory of the cutbacks and understand the impact on innovation across all types of companies. As businesses continue to embrace AI and automation, this tracker serves as a reminder of the human impact of layoffs — and what could be at stake with increased innovation.

    Below you’ll find a comprehensive list of all the known tech layoffs that have occurred in 2025, which will be updated regularly. If you have a tip on a layoff, contact us here. If you prefer to remain anonymous, you can contact us here.

    December

    Payoneer

    Will let go of about 30 employees in Israel and a similar number of staff overseas, bringing the total reduction to roughly 6% of its global workforce.

    VSCO

    Laid off 24 employees as part of a restructuring to refocus on tools for professional photographers. In an internal memo seen by TechCrunch, CEO Eric Wittman said that consumer demand fell short and recent expansion efforts didn’t deliver as hoped.

    Mobileye

    Is reportedly cutting 200 employees, about 4% of its global workforce. With over 3,000 of its 4,300 employees based in Israel, most of the cuts will affect its local teams.

    Techcrunch event

    San Francisco
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    October 13-15, 2026

    Inside Inbound Health

    Shut down on December 1, according to an audio recording obtained by Axios Pro. The hospital-at-home startup had raised more than $50 million.

    November

    Intel

    The company continued with its stated goal of cutting a significant amount of its workforce this year, with 59 Bay Area jobs eliminated effective November 30, in a Employment Development Department filing caught by KRON4.

    HP

    Is reportedly set to cut 4,000 to 6,000 jobs worldwide by 2028 as it looks to streamline operations and leverage AI to speed up product development and boost efficiency.

    Apple

    Is cutting several sales positions handling accounts ranging from business and schools to government agencies, as it moves to streamline how it sells devices and services to businesses, schools, and government agencies, Bloomberg reports.

    Monarch Tractor

    Told employees it may lay off more than 100 workers or even shut down, according to an internal memo obtained by TechCrunch. This comes after weeks of staff cuts across the autonomous electric tractor startup’s California offices and its teams in India and Singapore.

    Playtika

    Announced plans to lay off about 20% of its workforce, 700 to 800 employees, next month, marking its fifth round of cuts since 2022, according to Calcalist. The Nasdaq-listed gaming company, valued at $1.5 billion, employs about 3,500 people.

    Pipe

    Has laid off about 200 employees, roughly half its workforce, per Fintech Business Weekly. The revenue-based small business lender, once valued at $2 billion, said the cuts are part of its push toward profitability and greater operational efficiency.

    Synopsys

    Plans to cut roughly 10% of its workforce and close several sites as part of a restructuring tied to its recent acquisition of Ansys, The Wall Street Journal reported. The layoffs, which are expected to affect about 2,000 employees, are scheduled to take place during fiscal 2026, which began November 1.

    Deepwatch

    Has laid off between 60 and 80 employees, citing artificial intelligence as one of the factors behind the decision, TechCrunch reported. The cybersecurity firm, which builds an AI-powered threat detection and response platform, employs roughly 250 people.

    Axonius

    Is reportedly cutting roughly 10% of its staff, notifying employees in early November that about 100 of its 900 workers will be laid off. The New York–based cybersecurity firm says the move aims to streamline operations.

    MyBambu

    Is set to permanently close its local operations, laying off all 141 employees in two waves, according to a filing with the Florida Department of Commerce. The Florida-headquartered fintech company’s first 100 employees were let go on October 31, with the remaining 41 slated for termination by December 31.

    Hewlett-Packard

    Is removing 52 positions at its San Jose campus, according to reporting from the San Francisco Chronicle. The layoffs, which began last month and will continue through November, affect employees across cloud development, engineering, and product management.

    October

    Amazon

    After Reuters reported that the company was planning to eliminate up to 30,000 corporate jobs, amounting to roughly 10% of its 350,000 employees in their corporate departments, Amazon shared that it would pursue an “overall reduction in our corporate workforce of approximately 14,000 roles.” Since that news broke, Amazon has laid off 660 employees across multiple New York City offices, with more to come through the year.

    Rivian

    Is cutting 600 jobs, about 4% of its workforce, amid an EV market pullback, marking its third layoff this year. Details of the latest layoffs remain undisclosed, while earlier cuts in June and September affected 100 to 150 employees in its commercial and manufacturing teams.

    Meta

    Has laid off approximately 600 employees across its AI infrastructure units, including the Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) team and other product-related roles. However, top-tier AI hires in TBD Labs, managed by new chief AI officer Alexandr Wang, will not be affected.

    Applied Materials

    Plans to cut about 4% of its workforce, or roughly 1,400 jobs, to streamline operations amid tighter U.S. semiconductor export controls.

    Handshake

    Laid off around 100 employees in October, about 15% of its 650-person U.S. workforce. The layoffs affected various roles across its recruiting business vertical. The San Francisco-based startup is an online platform connecting college students and recent graduates with employers for early-career jobs.

    Smartsheet

    Has reportedly laid off over 120 employees amid a leadership transition following CEO Mark Mader’s retirement. The enterprise software company, which grew to more than 3,300 employees, was acquired for $8.4 billion by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners earlier this year, taking it private.

    Google

    Has cut over 100 design roles in its cloud division, hitting U.S.-based teams especially hard, as the company shifts focus toward AI investments, per a CNBC report. Many affected employees have until early December to find a new role within Google, following additional layoffs across its Silicon Valley offices, including at least 50 permanent cuts in Sunnyvale.

    Paycom

    Is reportedly laying off over 500 employees due to AI and automation improving back-office efficiencies. The Oklahoma City-based HR and payroll software company will provide affected workers with severance packages, outplacement services, and access to internal job opportunities.

    September

    Just Eat

    Will eliminate around 450 jobs as part of a cost and operations review, according to Reuters. The layoffs will span multiple functions and countries, including customer service and sales. Europe’s largest food delivery company said it is increasingly using automation and AI, shifting many manual service tasks to automated systems.

    Fiverr

    Plans to cut around 250 jobs, approximately 30% of its workforce, as part of a push to become a leaner, faster, and AI-focused company, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Tel Aviv-headquartered freelance services marketplace said the restructuring will reduce management layers and position it to pursue growth with an AI-native approach.

    ZipRecruiter

    Is closing its Tel Aviv development center, cutting about 80 jobs. Led by Yosi Taguri, the office specialized in software, data, and AI research, including algorithm development. The California-based recruitment firm, founded in 2010, is trimming costs amid a challenging labor market.

    GupShup

    Has laid off at least 100 employees, including junior developers, just months after cutting nearly 200 jobs. The San Francisco-based conversational AI company, which is preparing for an IPO within two years, raised $60 million in equity and debt in July.

    xAI

    Laid off about a third of its data annotation team, cutting roughly 500 jobs, according to Business Insider. The move comes as the company shifts focus from generalist AI tutors to specialist roles, after testing workers to assess their strengths. Employees were told they’ll be paid through the end of their contracts — or November 30 at the latest — but their system access was cut immediately, Business Insider reports.

    Rivian

    Has reportedly laid off about 200 workers, or 1.5% of its staff, as the company braces for the end of federal EV tax credits under President Trump’s policy changes. The $7,500 incentive for new electric cars expires this month, adding to pressure from cooling demand. Despite the cuts, Rivian says it’s moving ahead with plans for a lower-cost model.

    Oracle

    Is cutting another 101 jobs in Seattle and 254 in San Francisco, just weeks after a wave of layoffs in August. The company, which had about 3,900 local employees before the cuts, hasn’t explained the move and declined to comment.

    Salesforce

    Is trimming another 262 jobs at its San Francisco headquarters, according to a state filing, with layoffs set to take effect November 3. The move comes just weeks after CEO Marc Benioff touted AI’s potential to cut customer support roles and follows a smaller round of cuts in Seattle and Bellevue earlier this month.

    August

    Cisco

    Will eliminate 221 positions across its Milpitas and San Francisco offices, including 157 in Santa Clara County and 64 in San Francisco, effective October 13, according to filings with California’s Employment Development Department reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. The cuts are part of the company’s broader workforce-reduction strategy.

    Restaurant365

    Laid off about 100 employees last month, around 9% of its workforce, after falling short of ambitious growth targets. The cuts affected staff across all departments. The company provides back-office software for restaurant chains.

    Oracle

    Is set to cut 101 jobs at its Santa Clara location, with notices issued on August 13 and terminations effective October 13. The company, which recently disclosed nearly 200 layoffs at its Pleasanton and Redwood City offices, is also planning to lay off 161 employees in Seattle, according to filings with the Washington state Employment Security Department.

    F5

    Is cutting 106 positions at its Seattle and Liberty Lake, Washington, offices, according to a state Employment Security Department filing. The layoffs, which affected senior engineers and managers, are part of a broader global workforce reduction, although the security and application delivery company has not disclosed the total number of employees affected.

    Peloton

    Will cut 6% of its workforce in its sixth layoff in just over a year. Peloton CEO Peter Stern said the cuts are needed to improve long-term business health.

    Kaltura

    Is cutting 10% of its workforce, or about 70 employees, as part of a cost-saving effort to reduce operating expenses by $8.5 million, marking its third round of layoffs since 2022. The corporate video software company plans to maintain and gradually grow its sales and marketing budgets, driven by a robust pipeline and growing adoption of its AI-powered offerings.

    Yotpo

    Is laying off about 200 employees, roughly 34% of its global workforce, as it shuts down its email and SMS marketing operations. The Israeli-founded unicorn is partnering with Attentive and Omnisend to continue supporting marketing services while investing in AI-powered tools like automated review summaries, smart sorting, and a new Loyalty Tiers system.

    Windsurf

    Laid off 30 employees and is now offering buyouts to the remaining 200. The AI coding startup recently acquired by Cognition has had a rocky stretch, including a near-acquisition by OpenAI and a reverse-acqui-hire by Google that saw key talent depart before Cognition stepped in. Despite initial promises to value Windsurf’s team, the deal now looks more focused on the startup’s intellectual property than its people.

    Wondery

    Is cutting 100 jobs, and its CEO, Jen Sargent, is departing. Amazon is reorganizing its audio operations, moving Wondery’s audio-only podcasts under Audible and placing video-focused shows into a new Creator Services division. Amazon acquired Wondery in 2020.

    July

    Atlassian

    Has cut 150 roles in customer service and support, following enhancements to its platform and tools that have significantly reduced support needs. The decision came via a prerecorded message from CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes, just hours before co-founder Scott Farquhar urged Australia to embrace an “AI revolution” and move beyond “jobs of the past” in an Australian Press Club address. The Australian software firm was founded 2002.

    Consensys

    Is cutting about 7% of its workforce, or 47 employees, as part of a push toward profitability, Bloomberg reports. The decision follows the recent acquisition of a startup with around 30 staff, who will stay on with the company. Despite the cuts, the blockchain software company that operates the popular digital wallet MetaMask says it will continue hiring for select roles.

    Zeen

    Is shutting down operations, per a report by Business Insider. The social collaging platform aimed at creators was founded in 2019 and raised $9 million in funding. Its closure highlights the persistent challenges social media startups face in building user bases and achieving long-term growth.

    Scale AI

    Is laying off around 200 employees — roughly 14% of its workforce — and severing ties with 500 global contractors. The cuts come just weeks after Meta brought in the data-labeling startup’s CEO in a $14.3 billion deal.

    Lenovo

    Plans to cut more than 100 U.S. full-time jobs, about 3% of its workforce, including positions at its Morrisville, North Carolina, campus. As of February 2024, the PC maker employed around 5,100 workers in the U.S.

    Intel

    Is reportedly planning to lay off nearly 2,400 workers in Oregon, which is almost five times more than what was announced earlier this week. Last week, Intel announced that it will lay off more than 500 employees in Oregon, which is about 20% of its workforce, per Bloomberg.  

    Indeed + Glassdoor

    Plan to eliminate approximately 1,300 jobs combined as part of a larger restructuring effort to combine their operations and focus on AI. The layoff will mostly affect employees in the U.S., particularly in the R&D, HR, and sustainability teams, according to an internal memo by Hisayuki “Deko” Idekoba, the CEO of Recruit Holdings, which is the Japanese parent company of Indeed and Glassdoor.

    Eigen Lab

    Has laid off 29 employees as part of its reorganization, per a report by Blockworks. The Seattle-based research and engineering startup recently launched EigenCloud, a platform that provides blockchain-level trust guarantees for any Web 2.0 or web3 application. The reduction will affect 25% of the company’s workforce. Eigen Labs said it had raised $70 million in tokens from a16z Crypto in June.

    Microsoft

    Will cut 9,000 employees, which is less than 4% of its global workforce across teams, role types, and geographies. The reduction follows a series of layoffs earlier this year: It cut less than 1% of the headcount in January, more than 6,000 in May, and at least 300 in June.

    ByteDance

    Is laying off 65 employees in Bellevue, Washington, according to media reports. The parent company of TikTok arrived in Seattle in 2021 and has been expanding its presence there by growing its TikTok Shop online shopping division.

    June

    TomTom

    Announced on June 30 that the company is cutting 300 jobs, or 10% of its workforce, as part of organizational restructuring within its sales and support divisions amid the AI shift. The startup is an Amsterdam-based location tech startup that provides navigation and mapping products.

    Rivian

    Has reduced its headcount by approximately 140 employees, accounting for roughly 1% of its total workforce. The recent layoffs mostly affected Rivian’s manufacturing team.

    Bumble

    Announced in an SEC filing that it will cut approximately 240 jobs, or 30% of its workforce, to enhance operational efficiency and allocate the resulting savings to the development of new products and technologies, according to a CNBC report. The layoff will help the online dating app save $40 million annually, per the report.

    Klue

    Has reportedly laid off 85 employees, which accounts for approximately 40% of its workforce. The Vancouver-based startup sells software products that use artificial intelligence for business intelligence. It helps sales professionals at tech companies gather information on competitors to improve their sales.

    Google

    Has downsized its smart TV division by 25% of its 300-member team to adjust its strategy, per reports. Funding for the smart TV division, including Google TV and Android TV, has been cut by 10%, but investment in AI projects has been raised.

    Intel

    Says that it plans to lay off 15% to 20% of workers in its Intel Foundry division starting in July. Intel Foundry designs, manufactures, and packages semiconductors for external clients. Intel’s total workforce was 108,900 people as of December 2024, according to the company’s annual regulatory filing. It also confirmed to TechCrunch that it plans to wind down its auto business.

    Playtika

    Announced that it is letting go of around 90 employees, with 40 in Israel and 50 in Poland. The most recent round of job cuts comes after the Israel-based gaming company laid off 50 employees a few weeks ago.

    Airtime

    Has let go of around 25 employees from the 58-person team, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. Evernote’s founder Phil Libin launched the video startup in 2020, offering Airtime Creator and Airtime Camera.

    Microsoft

    Is laying off more employees, just a few weeks after announcing a job cut of over 6,500 in May, which was around 3% of its global workforce. The most recent layoffs affected software engineers, product managers, technical program managers, marketers, and legal counsels.

    May

    Hims & Hers

    Plans to downsize its workforce by letting go of 68 employees, approximately 4% of its total staff, per Reuters. The San Francisco telehealth platform said that its layoffs were unrelated to a U.S. ban on producing large quantities of the weight-loss drug Wegovy. The startup said it intends to keep on recruiting employees who fit in with its long-term expansion plans.

    Amazon

    Is reportedly laying off around 100 employees from its devices and services division, which encompasses various businesses like the Alexa voice assistant, Echo smart speakers, Ring video doorbells, and Zoox robotaxis. The company has reduced its workforce by approximately 27,000 since the start of 2022 to cut costs.

    Microsoft

    Will cut over 6,500 jobs, affecting 3% of its worldwide workforce. As of June, the Seattle-headquartered company had a total of 228,000 employees globally. It would be one of the company’s biggest layoffs since it cut 10,000 employees in 2023.

    Chegg

    Reportedly plans to let go of 248 employees, or about 22% of its workforce, to reduce expenses and improve efficiency, it said. The San Francisco-based edtech startup, which offers textbook rentals and tutoring services, has seen a drop in web traffic for months as students opt for AI tools instead of traditional edtech platforms.

    Match

    Is reducing its workforce by 13% as part of a reorganization that aims to reduce costs, shore up margins, and streamline its organizational structure.

    CrowdStrike

    Is laying off 5% of its global workforce, or around 500 people. The company said the layoffs were part of “a strategic plan (the ‘Plan’) to evolve its operations to yield greater efficiencies as the Company continues to scale its business with focus and discipline to meet its goal of $10 billion in ending [Annual Recurring Revenue]” in its 8-K filing.

    General Fusion

    Has cut roughly 25% of its current workforce. The Vancouver-based company, which is developing a technology to generate fusion energy, has raised $440 million from investors, including Jeff Bezos, Temasek, and BDC Capital.

    Deep Instinct

    Reduced its headcount by 20 employees, accounting for 10% of its total workforce. In April 2023, the Israeli cybersecurity startup had previously laid off a similar number of employees during a round of layoffs.

    Beam

    Has shut down its operations months after announcing major expansion plans, per Sifted. The British climate startup has let go of approximately 200 employees, according to a LinkedIn post by James Reynolds, the head of talent.

    April

    NetApp

    Is reportedly eliminating 700 jobs, affecting 6% of its total workforce, as it reorganizes for its operational efficiency. The company, based in San Francisco, provides data storage, cloud services, and CloudOps solutions for businesses.

    Electronic Arts

    Is reportedly letting go of approximately 300 to 400 employees, including around 100 at Respawn Entertainment, to focus on its “long-term strategic priorities,” according to Bloomberg.

    Expedia

    Is laying off around 3% of its employees as part of its restructuring. The job cuts will mainly affect midlevel positions in the product and technology teams. The latest round of layoffs comes after the company let go of hundreds of employees from its marketing team globally in early March.

    Cars24

    Has reduced its workforce by about 200 employees in its product and technology divisions as part of a restructuring measure. The India-based e-commerce platform for pre-owned vehicles provides a range of services like buying and selling pre-owned cars, financing, insurance, driver-on-demand, and more. In 2023, the SoftBank-backed startup raised $450 million at a valuation of $3.3 billion.

    Meta

    Is letting go of over 100 employees in its Reality Labs division, which manages virtual reality and wearable technology, according to The Verge. The job cuts affect employees developing VR experiences for Meta’s Quest headsets and staff working on hardware operations to streamline similar work between the two teams.

    Intel

    Announced its plan to lay off more than 21,000 employees, or roughly 20% of its workforce, in April. The move comes ahead of Intel’s Q1 earnings call helmed by recently appointed CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who took over from longtime chief Pat Gelsinger last year.

    GM

    Is laying off 200 people at its Factory Zero in Detroit and Hamtramck facility in Michigan, which produces GM’s electric vehicles. The cuts come amid the EV slowdown and is not caused by tariffs, according to a report.

    Zopper

    Has reportedly let go of around 100 employees since the start of 2025. Earlier this week, about 50 employees from the tech and product teams were let go in the latest round of job cuts. The India-based insurtech startup has raised a total of $125 million to date.

    Turo

    Will reduce its workforce by 150 positions following its decision not to proceed with its IPO, per Bloomberg. The San Francisco-based car rental startup, which had about 1,000 staff in 2024, said the layoffs will bolster its long-term growth plans during economic uncertainty.

    GupShup

    Laid off roughly 200 employees to improve efficiency and profitability. It’s the startup’s second round of layoffs in five months, following the job cuts of around 300 employees in December. The conversational AI company, backed by Tiger Global and Fidelity, was last valued at $1.4 billion in 2021. The startup is based in San Francisco and operates in India.

    Forto

    Has reportedly eliminated 200 jobs, affecting around one-third of its employees. The German logistics startup reduced a significant number of sales staff.

    Wicresoft

    Will stop its operations in China, affecting around 2,000 employees. The move came after Microsoft decided to end outsourcing after-sales support to Wicresoft amid increasing trade tensions. Wicresoft, Microsoft’s first joint venture in China, was founded in 2022 and operates in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. It has over 10,000 employees.

    Five9

    Plans to cut 123 jobs, affecting about 4% of its workforce, according to a report by MarketWatch. The software company prioritizes key strategic areas like artificial intelligence for profitable growth.

    Google

    Has laid off hundreds of employees in its platforms and devices division, which covers Android, Pixel phones, the Chrome browser, and more, according to The Information.

    Microsoft

    Is contemplating additional layoffs that could happen by May, Business Insider reported, citing anonymous sources. The company is said to be discussing reducing the number of middle managers and non-coders in a bid to increase the ratio of programmers to product managers.

    Automattic

    The WordPress.com developer is laying off 16% of its workforce across departments. Before the layoffs, the company’s website showed it had 1,744 employees, so more than 270 staff may have been laid off.

    Canva

    Has let go of 10 to 12 technical writers approximately nine months after telling its employees to use generative AI tools wherever possible. The company, which had around 5,500 staff in 2024, was valued at $26 billion after a secondary stock sale in 2024.

    March

    Northvolt

    Has laid off 2,800 employees, affecting 62% of its total staff. The layoffs come weeks after the embattled Swedish battery maker filed for bankruptcy.

    Block

    Let go of 931 employees, around 8% of its workforce, as part of a reorganization, according to an internal email seen by TechCrunch. Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and CEO of the fintech company, wrote in the email that the layoffs were not for financial reasons or to replace workers with AI.

    Brightcove

    Has laid off 198 employees, who make up about two-thirds of its U.S. workforce, per a media report. The layoff comes a month after the company was acquired by Bending Spoons, an Italian app developer, for $233 million. Brightcove had 600 employees worldwide, with 300 in the U.S., as of December 2023.

    Acxiom

    Has reportedly laid off 130 employees, or 3.5% of its total workforce of 3,700 people. Acxiom is owned by IPG, and the news comes just a day after IPG and Omnicom Group shareholders approved the companies’ potential merger.

    Sequoia Capital

    Plans to close its office in Washington, D.C., and let go of its policy team there by the end of March, TechCrunch has confirmed. Sequoia opened its Washington office five years ago to deepen its relationship with policymakers. Three full-time employees are expected to be affected, per Forbes.

    Siemens

    Announced plans to let go of approximately 5,600 jobs globally in its automation and electric-vehicle charging businesses as part of efforts to improve competitiveness.

    HelloFresh

    Is reportedly laying off 273 employees, closing its distribution center in Grand Prairie, Texas, and consolidating to another site in Irving to manage the volume in the region.

    Otorio

    Has cut 45 employees, more than half of its workforce, after being acquired by cybersecurity company Armis for $120 million in March.

    ActiveFence

    Will reportedly reduce 22 employees, representing 7% of its workforce. Most of those affected are based in Israel as the company undergoes a streamlining process. The New York- and Tel Aviv-headquartered cybersecurity firm has raised $100 million at a valuation of about $500 million in 2021.

    D-ID

    Will cut 22 jobs, affecting nearly a quarter of its total workforce, following the announcement of the AI startup’s strategic partnership with Microsoft.

    NASA

    Announced it will be shutting down several of its offices in accordance with Elon Musk’s DOGE, including its Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy and the DEI branch in the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity.

    Zonar Systems

    Has reportedly laid off some staff, according to LinkedIn posts from ex-employees. The company has not confirmed the layoffs, and it is currently unknown how many workers were affected.

    Wayfair

    Announced plans to let go of 340 employees in its technology division as part of a new restructuring effort.

    HPE

    Will cut 2,500 employees, or 5% of its total staff, in response to its shares sliding 19% in the first fiscal quarter.

    TikTok

    Will cut up to 300 workers in Dublin, accounting for roughly 10% of the company’s workforce in Ireland. 

    LiveRamp

    Announced it will lay off 65 employees, affecting 5% of its total workforce.

    Ola Electric

    Is reportedly set to lay off over 1,000 employees and contractors in a cost-cutting effort. It’s the second round of cuts for the company in just five months.

    Rec Room

    Reduced its total headcount by 16% as the gaming startup shifts its focus to be “scrappier” and “more efficient.”

    ANS Commerce

    Was shut down just three years after it was acquired by Flipkart. It is currently unknown how many employees were affected.

    February

    HP

    Will cut up to 2,000 jobs as part of its “Future Now” restructuring plan that hopes to save the company $300 million before the end of its fiscal year.

    GrubHub

    Announced 500 job cuts after it was sold to Wonder Group for $650 million. The number of cuts affected more than 20% of its previous workforce. 

    Autodesk

    Announced plans to lay off 1,350 employees, affecting 9% of its total workforce, in an attempt to reshape its GTM model. The company is also making reductions in its facilities, though it does not plan to close any offices.

    Google

    Is planning to cut employees in its People Operations and cloud organizations teams in a new reorganization effort. The company is offering a voluntary exit program to U.S.-based People Operations employees.

    Nautilus

    Reduced its headcount by 25 employees, accounting for 16% of its total workforce. The company is planning to release a commercial version of its proteome analysis platform in 2026.

    eBay

    Will reportedly cut a few dozen employees in Israel, potentially affecting 10% of its 250-person workforce in the country.

    Starbucks

    Cut 1,100 jobs in a reorganizing effort that affected its tech workers. The coffee chain will now outsource some tech work to third-party employees.

    Commercetools

    Laid off dozens of employees over the last few weeks, including around 10% of staff in one day, after failing to meet its sales growth targets. The “headless commerce” platform raised money at a $1.9 billion valuation just a few years ago.

    Dayforce

    Will cut roughly 5% of its current workforce in a new efficiency drive to increase profitability and growth.

    Expedia

    Laid off more employees in a new effort to cut costs, though the total number is unknown. Last year, the travel giant cut about 1,500 roles in its Product & Technology division.

    Skybox Security

    Has ceased operations and has laid off its employees after selling its business and technology to Israeli cybersecurity company Tufin. The cuts affect roughly 300 people. 

    HerMD

    Is shutting down its operations after shifting from a brick-and-mortar model to a fully virtual women’s healthcare provider. The startup, which raised $18 million in 2023, has not disclosed how many employees are affected, saying recent layoffs were tied to its former in-person business.

    Zendesk

    Cut 51 jobs in its San Francisco headquarters, according to state filings with the Employment Development Department. The SaaS startup previously reduced its headcount by 8% in 2023.

    Vendease

    Has cut 120 employees, affecting 44% of its total staff. It’s the Y Combinator-backed Nigerian startup’s second layoff round in just five months.

    Logically

    Reportedly laid off dozens of employees as part of a new cost-cutting effort that aims to ensure “long-term success” in the startup’s mission to curb misinformation online.

    Blue Origin

    Will lay off about 10% of its workforce, affecting more than 1,000 employees. According to an email to staff obtained by CNN, the cuts will largely have an impact on positions in engineering and program management. 

    Redfin

    Announced in an SEC filing that it will cut around 450 positions between February and July 2025, with a complete restructuring set to be completed in the fall, following its new partnership with Zillow.

    Sophos

    Is laying off 6% of its total workforce, the cybersecurity firm confirmed to TechCrunch. The cuts come less than two weeks after Sophos acquired Secureworks for $859 million.

    Zepz

    Will cut nearly 200 employees as it introduces redundancy measures and closes down its operations in Poland and Kenya.

    Unity

    Reportedly conducted another round of layoffs. It’s unknown how many employees were affected.

    JustWorks

    Cut nearly 200 employees, CEO Mike Seckler announced in a note to employees, citing “potential adverse events” like a recession or rising interest rates.

    Bird

    Cut 120 jobs, affecting roughly one-third of its total workforce, TechCrunch exclusively learned. The move comes just a year after the Dutch startup cut 90 employees following its rebrand.

    Sprinklr

    Laid off about 500 employees, affecting 15% of its workforce, citing poor business performance. The new cuts follow two earlier layoff rounds for the company that affected roughly 200 employees.

    Sonos

    Reportedly let go of approximately 200 employees, according to The Verge. The company previously cut 100 employees as part of a layoff round in August 2024. 

    Workday

    Laid off 1,750 employees, as originally reported by Bloomberg and confirmed independently by TechCrunch. The cuts affect roughly 8.5% of the enterprise HR platform’s total headcount.

    Okta

    Laid off 180 employees, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The cuts come just over one year after the access and identity management giant let go of 400 workers.

    Cruise

    Is laying off 50% of its workforce, including CEO Marc Whitten and several other top executives, as it prepares to shut down operations. What remains of the autonomous vehicle company will move under General Motors.

    Salesforce

    Is reportedly eliminating more than 1,000 jobs. The cuts come as the giant is actively recruiting and hiring workers to sell new AI products.

    January

    Cushion

    Has shut down operations, CEO Paul Kesserwani announced on LinkedIn. The fintech startup’s post-money valuation in 2022 was $82.4 million, according to PitchBook.

    Placer.ai

    Laid off 150 employees based in the U.S., affecting roughly 18% of its total workforce, in an effort to reach profitability.

    Amazon

    Laid off dozens of workers in its communications department in order to help the company “move faster, increase ownership, strengthen our culture, and bring teams closer to customers.”

    Stripe

    Is laying off 300 people, according to a leaked memo reported by Business Insider. However, according to the memo, the fintech giant is planning to grow its total headcount by 17%. 

    Textio

    Laid off 15 employees as the augmented writing startup undergoes a restructuring effort.

    Pocket FM

    Is cutting 75 employees in an effort to “ensure the long-term sustainability and success” of the company. The audio company last cut 200 writers in July 2024 months after partnering with ElevenLabs.

    Aurora Solar

    Is planning to cut 58 employees in response to an “ongoing macroeconomic challenges and continued uncertainty in the solar industry.”

    Meta

    Announced in an internal memo that it will cut 5% of its staff targeting “low performers” as the company prepares for “an intense year.” As of its latest quarterly report, Meta currently has more than 72,000 employees.

    Wayfair

    Will cut up to 730 jobs, affecting 3% of its total workforce, as it plans to exit operations in Germany and focus on physical retailers.

    Pandion

    Is shutting down its operations, affecting 63 employees. The delivery startup said employees will be paid through January 15 without severance.

    Icon

    Is laying off 114 employees as part of a team realignment, per a new WARN notice filing, focusing its efforts on a robotic printing system.

    Altruist

    Eliminated 37 jobs, affecting roughly 10% of its total workforce, even as the company pursues “aggressive” hiring.

    Aqua Security

    Is cutting dozens of employees across its global markets as part of a strategic reorganization to increase profitability.

    SolarEdge Technologies

    Plans to lay off 400 employees globally. It’s the company’s fourth layoff round since January 2024 as the solar industry as a whole faces a downturn.

    Level

    The fintech startup, founded in 2018, abruptly shut down earlier this year. Per an email from CEO Paul Aaron, the closure follows an unsuccessful attempt to find a buyer, though Employer.com has a new offer under consideration to acquire the company post-shutdown.

    This list updates regularly.

    On April 24, 2025, we corrected the number of layoffs that happened in March.

    Kate Park, Cody Corrall, Alyssa Stringer

    Source link

  • A comprehensive list of 2025 tech layoffs | TechCrunch

    The tech layoff wave is still kicking in 2025. Last year saw more than 150,000 job cuts across 549 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. So far this year, more than 22,000 workers have been the victim of reductions across the tech industry, with a staggering 16,084 cuts taking place in February alone.

    We’re tracking layoffs in the tech industry in 2025 so you can see the trajectory of the cutbacks and understand the impact on innovation across all types of companies. As businesses continue to embrace AI and automation, this tracker serves as a reminder of the human impact of layoffs — and what could be at stake with increased innovation.

    Below you’ll find a comprehensive list of all the known tech layoffs that have occurred in 2025, which will be updated regularly. If you have a tip on a layoff, contact us here. If you prefer to remain anonymous, you can contact us here.

    October

    Rivian

    Is cutting 600 jobs, about 4% of its workforce, amid an EV market pullback, marking its third layoff this year. Details of the latest layoffs remain undisclosed, while earlier cuts in June and September affected 100 to 150 employees in its commercial and manufacturing teams.

    Meta

    Will reportedly lay off approximately 600 employees across its AI infrastructure units, including the Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) team and other product-related roles. However, top-tier AI hires in TBD Labs, managed by new chief AI officer Alexandr Wang, will not be affected.

    Applied Materials

    Plans to cut about 4% of its workforce, or roughly 1,400 jobs, to streamline operations amid tighter U.S. semiconductor export controls.

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    Handshake

    Laid off around 100 employees in October, about 15% of its 650-person U.S. workforce. The layoffs affected various roles across its recruiting business vertical. The San Francisco-based startup is an online platform connecting college students and recent graduates with employers for early-career jobs.

    Smartsheet

    Has reportedly laid off over 120 employees amid a leadership transition following CEO Mark Mader’s retirement. The enterprise software company, which grew to more than 3,300 employees, was acquired for $8.4 billion by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners earlier this year, taking it private.

    Google

    Has cut over 100 design roles in its cloud division, hitting U.S.-based teams especially hard, as the company shifts focus toward AI investments, per a CNBC report. Many affected employees have until early December to find a new role within Google, following additional layoffs across its Silicon Valley offices, including at least 50 permanent cuts in Sunnyvale.

    Paycom

    Is reportedly laying off over 500 employees due to AI and automation improving back-office efficiencies. The Oklahoma City-based HR and payroll software company will provide affected workers with severance packages, outplacement services, and access to internal job opportunities.

    September

    Just Eat

    Will eliminate around 450 jobs as part of a cost and operations review, according to Reuters. The layoffs will span multiple functions and countries, including customer service and sales. Europe’s largest food delivery company said it is increasingly using automation and AI, shifting many manual service tasks to automated systems.

    Fiverr

    Plans to cut around 250 jobs, approximately 30% of its workforce, as part of a push to become a leaner, faster, and AI-focused company, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Tel Aviv-headquartered freelance services marketplace said the restructuring will reduce management layers and position it to pursue growth with an AI-native approach.

    ZipRecruiter

    Is closing its Tel Aviv development center, cutting about 80 jobs. Led by Yosi Taguri, the office specialized in software, data, and AI research, including algorithm development. The California-based recruitment firm, founded in 2010, is trimming costs amid a challenging labor market.

    GupShup

    Has laid off at least 100 employees, including junior developers, just months after cutting nearly 200 jobs. The San Francisco-based conversational AI company, which is preparing for an IPO within two years, raised $60 million in equity and debt in July.

    xAI

    Laid off about a third of its data annotation team, cutting roughly 500 jobs, according to Business Insider. The move comes as the company shifts focus from generalist AI tutors to specialist roles, after testing workers to assess their strengths. Employees were told they’ll be paid through the end of their contracts — or November 30 at the latest — but their system access was cut immediately, Business Insider reports.

    Rivian

    Has reportedly laid off about 200 workers, or 1.5% of its staff, as the company braces for the end of federal EV tax credits under President Trump’s policy changes. The $7,500 incentive for new electric cars expires this month, adding to pressure from cooling demand. Despite the cuts, Rivian says it’s moving ahead with plans for a lower-cost model.

    Oracle

    Is cutting another 101 jobs in Seattle and 254 in San Francisco, just weeks after a wave of layoffs in August. The company, which had about 3,900 local employees before the cuts, hasn’t explained the move and declined to comment.

    Salesforce

    Is trimming another 262 jobs at its San Francisco headquarters, according to a state filing, with layoffs set to take effect November 3. The move comes just weeks after CEO Marc Benioff touted AI’s potential to cut customer support roles and follows a smaller round of cuts in Seattle and Bellevue earlier this month.

    August

    Cisco

    Will eliminate 221 positions across its Milpitas and San Francisco offices, including 157 in Santa Clara County and 64 in San Francisco, effective October 13, according to filings with California’s Employment Development Department reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. The cuts are part of the company’s broader workforce-reduction strategy.

    Restaurant365

    Laid off about 100 employees last month, around 9% of its workforce, after falling short of ambitious growth targets. The cuts affected staff across all departments. The company provides back-office software for restaurant chains.

    Oracle

    Is set to cut 101 jobs at its Santa Clara location, with notices issued on August 13 and terminations effective October 13. The company, which recently disclosed nearly 200 layoffs at its Pleasanton and Redwood City offices, is also planning to lay off 161 employees in Seattle, according to filings with the Washington state Employment Security Department.

    F5

    Is cutting 106 positions at its Seattle and Liberty Lake, Washington, offices, according to a state Employment Security Department filing. The layoffs, which affected senior engineers and managers, are part of a broader global workforce reduction, although the security and application delivery company has not disclosed the total number of employees affected.

    Peloton

    Will cut 6% of its workforce in its sixth layoff in just over a year. Peloton CEO Peter Stern said the cuts are needed to improve long-term business health.

    Kaltura

    Is cutting 10% of its workforce, or about 70 employees, as part of a cost-saving effort to reduce operating expenses by $8.5 million, marking its third round of layoffs since 2022. The corporate video software company plans to maintain and gradually grow its sales and marketing budgets, driven by a robust pipeline and growing adoption of its AI-powered offerings.

    Yotpo

    Is laying off about 200 employees, roughly 34% of its global workforce, as it shuts down its email and SMS marketing operations. The Israeli-founded unicorn is partnering with Attentive and Omnisend to continue supporting marketing services while investing in AI-powered tools like automated review summaries, smart sorting, and a new Loyalty Tiers system.

    Windsurf

    Laid off 30 employees and is now offering buyouts to the remaining 200. The AI coding startup recently acquired by Cognition has had a rocky stretch, including a near-acquisition by OpenAI and a reverse-acqui-hire by Google that saw key talent depart before Cognition stepped in. Despite initial promises to value Windsurf’s team, the deal now looks more focused on the startup’s intellectual property than its people.

    Wondery

    Is cutting 100 jobs, and its CEO, Jen Sargent, is departing. Amazon is reorganizing its audio operations, moving Wondery’s audio-only podcasts under Audible and placing video-focused shows into a new Creator Services division. Amazon acquired Wondery in 2020.

    July

    Atlassian

    Has cut 150 roles in customer service and support, following enhancements to its platform and tools that have significantly reduced support needs. The decision came via a prerecorded message from CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes, just hours before co-founder Scott Farquhar urged Australia to embrace an “AI revolution” and move beyond “jobs of the past” in an Australian Press Club address. The Australian software firm was founded 2002.

    Consensys

    Is cutting about 7% of its workforce, or 47 employees, as part of a push toward profitability, Bloomberg reports. The decision follows the recent acquisition of a startup with around 30 staff, who will stay on with the company. Despite the cuts, the blockchain software company that operates the popular digital wallet MetaMask says it will continue hiring for select roles.

    Zeen

    Is shutting down operations, per a report by Business Insider. The social collaging platform aimed at creators was founded in 2019 and raised $9 million in funding. Its closure highlights the persistent challenges social media startups face in building user bases and achieving long-term growth.

    Scale AI

    Is laying off around 200 employees — roughly 14% of its workforce — and severing ties with 500 global contractors. The cuts come just weeks after Meta brought in the data-labeling startup’s CEO in a $14.3 billion deal.

    Lenovo

    Plans to cut more than 100 U.S. full-time jobs, about 3% of its workforce, including positions at its Morrisville, North Carolina, campus. As of February 2024, the PC maker employed around 5,100 workers in the U.S.

    Intel

    Is reportedly planning to lay off nearly 2,400 workers in Oregon, which is almost five times more than what was announced earlier this week. Last week, Intel announced that it will lay off more than 500 employees in Oregon, which is about 20% of its workforce, per Bloomberg.  

    Indeed + Glassdoor

    Plan to eliminate approximately 1,300 jobs combined as part of a larger restructuring effort to combine their operations and focus on AI. The layoff will mostly affect employees in the U.S., particularly in the R&D, HR, and sustainability teams, according to an internal memo by Hisayuki “Deko” Idekoba, the CEO of Recruit Holdings, which is the Japanese parent company of Indeed and Glassdoor.

    Eigen Lab

    Has laid off 29 employees as part of its reorganization, per a report by Blockworks. The Seattle-based research and engineering startup recently launched EigenCloud, a platform that provides blockchain-level trust guarantees for any Web 2.0 or web3 application. The reduction will affect 25% of the company’s workforce. Eigen Labs said it had raised $70 million in tokens from a16z Crypto in June.

    Microsoft

    Will cut 9,000 employees, which is less than 4% of its global workforce across teams, role types, and geographies. The reduction follows a series of layoffs earlier this year: It cut less than 1% of the headcount in January, more than 6,000 in May, and at least 300 in June.

    ByteDance

    Is laying off 65 employees in Bellevue, Washington, according to media reports. The parent company of TikTok arrived in Seattle in 2021 and has been expanding its presence there by growing its TikTok Shop online shopping division.

    June

    TomTom

    Announced on June 30 that the company is cutting 300 jobs, or 10% of its workforce, as part of organizational restructuring within its sales and support divisions amid the AI shift. The startup is an Amsterdam-based location tech startup that provides navigation and mapping products.

    Rivian

    Has reduced its headcount by approximately 140 employees, accounting for roughly 1% of its total workforce. The recent layoffs mostly affected Rivian’s manufacturing team.

    Bumble

    Announced in an SEC filing that it will cut approximately 240 jobs, or 30% of its workforce, to enhance operational efficiency and allocate the resulting savings to the development of new products and technologies, according to a CNBC report. The layoff will help the online dating app save $40 million annually, per the report.

    Klue

    Has reportedly laid off 85 employees, which accounts for approximately 40% of its workforce. The Vancouver-based startup sells software products that use artificial intelligence for business intelligence. It helps sales professionals at tech companies gather information on competitors to improve their sales.

    Google

    Has downsized its smart TV division by 25% of its 300-member team to adjust its strategy, per reports. Funding for the smart TV division, including Google TV and Android TV, has been cut by 10%, but investment in AI projects has been raised.

    Intel

    Says that it plans to lay off 15% to 20% of workers in its Intel Foundry division starting in July. Intel Foundry designs, manufactures, and packages semiconductors for external clients. Intel’s total workforce was 108,900 people as of December 2024, according to the company’s annual regulatory filing. It also confirmed to TechCrunch that it plans to wind down its auto business.

    Playtika

    Announced that it is letting go of around 90 employees, with 40 in Israel and 50 in Poland. The most recent round of job cuts comes after the Israel-based gaming company laid off 50 employees a few weeks ago.

    Airtime

    Has let go of around 25 employees from the 58-person team, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. Evernote’s founder Phil Libin launched the video startup in 2020, offering Airtime Creator and Airtime Camera.

    Microsoft

    Is laying off more employees, just a few weeks after announcing a job cut of over 6,500 in May, which was around 3% of its global workforce. The most recent layoffs affected software engineers, product managers, technical program managers, marketers, and legal counsels.

    May

    Hims & Hers

    Plans to downsize its workforce by letting go of 68 employees, approximately 4% of its total staff, per Reuters. The San Francisco telehealth platform said that its layoffs were unrelated to a U.S. ban on producing large quantities of the weight-loss drug Wegovy. The startup said it intends to keep on recruiting employees who fit in with its long-term expansion plans.

    Amazon

    Is reportedly laying off around 100 employees from its devices and services division, which encompasses various businesses like the Alexa voice assistant, Echo smart speakers, Ring video doorbells, and Zoox robotaxis. The company has reduced its workforce by approximately 27,000 since the start of 2022 to cut costs.

    Microsoft

    Will cut over 6,500 jobs, affecting 3% of its worldwide workforce. As of June, the Seattle-headquartered company had a total of 228,000 employees globally. It would be one of the company’s biggest layoffs since it cut 10,000 employees in 2023.

    Chegg

    Reportedly plans to let go of 248 employees, or about 22% of its workforce, to reduce expenses and improve efficiency, it said. The San Francisco-based edtech startup, which offers textbook rentals and tutoring services, has seen a drop in web traffic for months as students opt for AI tools instead of traditional edtech platforms.

    Match

    Is reducing its workforce by 13% as part of a reorganization that aims to reduce costs, shore up margins, and streamline its organizational structure.

    CrowdStrike

    Is laying off 5% of its global workforce, or around 500 people. The company said the layoffs were part of “a strategic plan (the ‘Plan’) to evolve its operations to yield greater efficiencies as the Company continues to scale its business with focus and discipline to meet its goal of $10 billion in ending [Annual Recurring Revenue]” in its 8-K filing.

    General Fusion

    Has cut roughly 25% of its current workforce. The Vancouver-based company, which is developing a technology to generate fusion energy, has raised $440 million from investors, including Jeff Bezos, Temasek, and BDC Capital.

    Deep Instinct

    Reduced its headcount by 20 employees, accounting for 10% of its total workforce. In April 2023, the Israeli cybersecurity startup had previously laid off a similar number of employees during a round of layoffs.

    Beam

    Has shut down its operations months after announcing major expansion plans, per Sifted. The British climate startup has let go of approximately 200 employees, according to a LinkedIn post by James Reynolds, the head of talent.

    April

    NetApp

    Is reportedly eliminating 700 jobs, affecting 6% of its total workforce, as it reorganizes for its operational efficiency. The company, based in San Francisco, provides data storage, cloud services, and CloudOps solutions for businesses.

    Electronic Arts

    Is reportedly letting go of approximately 300 to 400 employees, including around 100 at Respawn Entertainment, to focus on its “long-term strategic priorities,” according to Bloomberg.

    Expedia

    Is laying off around 3% of its employees as part of its restructuring. The job cuts will mainly affect midlevel positions in the product and technology teams. The latest round of layoffs comes after the company let go of hundreds of employees from its marketing team globally in early March.

    Cars24

    Has reduced its workforce by about 200 employees in its product and technology divisions as part of a restructuring measure. The India-based e-commerce platform for pre-owned vehicles provides a range of services like buying and selling pre-owned cars, financing, insurance, driver-on-demand, and more. In 2023, the SoftBank-backed startup raised $450 million at a valuation of $3.3 billion.

    Meta

    Is letting go of over 100 employees in its Reality Labs division, which manages virtual reality and wearable technology, according to The Verge. The job cuts affect employees developing VR experiences for Meta’s Quest headsets and staff working on hardware operations to streamline similar work between the two teams.

    Intel

    Announced its plan to lay off more than 21,000 employees, or roughly 20% of its workforce, in April. The move comes ahead of Intel’s Q1 earnings call helmed by recently appointed CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who took over from longtime chief Pat Gelsinger last year.

    GM

    Is laying off 200 people at its Factory Zero in Detroit and Hamtramck facility in Michigan, which produces GM’s electric vehicles. The cuts come amid the EV slowdown and is not caused by tariffs, according to a report.

    Zopper

    Has reportedly let go of around 100 employees since the start of 2025. Earlier this week, about 50 employees from the tech and product teams were let go in the latest round of job cuts. The India-based insurtech startup has raised a total of $125 million to date.

    Turo

    Will reduce its workforce by 150 positions following its decision not to proceed with its IPO, per Bloomberg. The San Francisco-based car rental startup, which had about 1,000 staff in 2024, said the layoffs will bolster its long-term growth plans during economic uncertainty.

    GupShup

    Laid off roughly 200 employees to improve efficiency and profitability. It’s the startup’s second round of layoffs in five months, following the job cuts of around 300 employees in December. The conversational AI company, backed by Tiger Global and Fidelity, was last valued at $1.4 billion in 2021. The startup is based in San Francisco and operates in India.

    Forto

    Has reportedly eliminated 200 jobs, affecting around one-third of its employees. The German logistics startup reduced a significant number of sales staff.

    Wicresoft

    Will stop its operations in China, affecting around 2,000 employees. The move came after Microsoft decided to end outsourcing after-sales support to Wicresoft amid increasing trade tensions. Wicresoft, Microsoft’s first joint venture in China, was founded in 2022 and operates in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. It has over 10,000 employees.

    Five9

    Plans to cut 123 jobs, affecting about 4% of its workforce, according to a report by MarketWatch. The software company prioritizes key strategic areas like artificial intelligence for profitable growth.

    Google

    Has laid off hundreds of employees in its platforms and devices division, which covers Android, Pixel phones, the Chrome browser, and more, according to The Information.

    Microsoft

    Is contemplating additional layoffs that could happen by May, Business Insider reported, citing anonymous sources. The company is said to be discussing reducing the number of middle managers and non-coders in a bid to increase the ratio of programmers to product managers.

    Automattic

    The WordPress.com developer is laying off 16% of its workforce across departments. Before the layoffs, the company’s website showed it had 1,744 employees, so more than 270 staff may have been laid off.

    Canva

    Has let go of 10 to 12 technical writers approximately nine months after telling its employees to use generative AI tools wherever possible. The company, which had around 5,500 staff in 2024, was valued at $26 billion after a secondary stock sale in 2024.

    March

    Northvolt

    Has laid off 2,800 employees, affecting 62% of its total staff. The layoffs come weeks after the embattled Swedish battery maker filed for bankruptcy.

    Block

    Let go of 931 employees, around 8% of its workforce, as part of a reorganization, according to an internal email seen by TechCrunch. Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and CEO of the fintech company, wrote in the email that the layoffs were not for financial reasons or to replace workers with AI.

    Brightcove

    Has laid off 198 employees, who make up about two-thirds of its U.S. workforce, per a media report. The layoff comes a month after the company was acquired by Bending Spoons, an Italian app developer, for $233 million. Brightcove had 600 employees worldwide, with 300 in the U.S., as of December 2023.

    Acxiom

    Has reportedly laid off 130 employees, or 3.5% of its total workforce of 3,700 people. Acxiom is owned by IPG, and the news comes just a day after IPG and Omnicom Group shareholders approved the companies’ potential merger.

    Sequoia Capital

    Plans to close its office in Washington, D.C., and let go of its policy team there by the end of March, TechCrunch has confirmed. Sequoia opened its Washington office five years ago to deepen its relationship with policymakers. Three full-time employees are expected to be affected, per Forbes.

    Siemens

    Announced plans to let go of approximately 5,600 jobs globally in its automation and electric-vehicle charging businesses as part of efforts to improve competitiveness.

    HelloFresh

    Is reportedly laying off 273 employees, closing its distribution center in Grand Prairie, Texas, and consolidating to another site in Irving to manage the volume in the region.

    Otorio

    Has cut 45 employees, more than half of its workforce, after being acquired by cybersecurity company Armis for $120 million in March.

    ActiveFence

    Will reportedly reduce 22 employees, representing 7% of its workforce. Most of those affected are based in Israel as the company undergoes a streamlining process. The New York- and Tel Aviv-headquartered cybersecurity firm has raised $100 million at a valuation of about $500 million in 2021.

    D-ID

    Will cut 22 jobs, affecting nearly a quarter of its total workforce, following the announcement of the AI startup’s strategic partnership with Microsoft.

    NASA

    Announced it will be shutting down several of its offices in accordance with Elon Musk’s DOGE, including its Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy and the DEI branch in the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity.

    Zonar Systems

    Has reportedly laid off some staff, according to LinkedIn posts from ex-employees. The company has not confirmed the layoffs, and it is currently unknown how many workers were affected.

    Wayfair

    Announced plans to let go of 340 employees in its technology division as part of a new restructuring effort.

    HPE

    Will cut 2,500 employees, or 5% of its total staff, in response to its shares sliding 19% in the first fiscal quarter.

    TikTok

    Will cut up to 300 workers in Dublin, accounting for roughly 10% of the company’s workforce in Ireland. 

    LiveRamp

    Announced it will lay off 65 employees, affecting 5% of its total workforce.

    Ola Electric

    Is reportedly set to lay off over 1,000 employees and contractors in a cost-cutting effort. It’s the second round of cuts for the company in just five months.

    Rec Room

    Reduced its total headcount by 16% as the gaming startup shifts its focus to be “scrappier” and “more efficient.”

    ANS Commerce

    Was shut down just three years after it was acquired by Flipkart. It is currently unknown how many employees were affected.

    February

    HP

    Will cut up to 2,000 jobs as part of its “Future Now” restructuring plan that hopes to save the company $300 million before the end of its fiscal year.

    GrubHub

    Announced 500 job cuts after it was sold to Wonder Group for $650 million. The number of cuts affected more than 20% of its previous workforce. 

    Autodesk

    Announced plans to lay off 1,350 employees, affecting 9% of its total workforce, in an attempt to reshape its GTM model. The company is also making reductions in its facilities, though it does not plan to close any offices.

    Google

    Is planning to cut employees in its People Operations and cloud organizations teams in a new reorganization effort. The company is offering a voluntary exit program to U.S.-based People Operations employees.

    Nautilus

    Reduced its headcount by 25 employees, accounting for 16% of its total workforce. The company is planning to release a commercial version of its proteome analysis platform in 2026.

    eBay

    Will reportedly cut a few dozen employees in Israel, potentially affecting 10% of its 250-person workforce in the country.

    Starbucks

    Cut 1,100 jobs in a reorganizing effort that affected its tech workers. The coffee chain will now outsource some tech work to third-party employees.

    Commercetools

    Laid off dozens of employees over the last few weeks, including around 10% of staff in one day, after failing to meet its sales growth targets. The “headless commerce” platform raised money at a $1.9 billion valuation just a few years ago.

    Dayforce

    Will cut roughly 5% of its current workforce in a new efficiency drive to increase profitability and growth.

    Expedia

    Laid off more employees in a new effort to cut costs, though the total number is unknown. Last year, the travel giant cut about 1,500 roles in its Product & Technology division.

    Skybox Security

    Has ceased operations and has laid off its employees after selling its business and technology to Israeli cybersecurity company Tufin. The cuts affect roughly 300 people. 

    HerMD

    Is shutting down its operations after shifting from a brick-and-mortar model to a fully virtual women’s healthcare provider. The startup, which raised $18 million in 2023, has not disclosed how many employees are affected, saying recent layoffs were tied to its former in-person business.

    Zendesk

    Cut 51 jobs in its San Francisco headquarters, according to state filings with the Employment Development Department. The SaaS startup previously reduced its headcount by 8% in 2023.

    Vendease

    Has cut 120 employees, affecting 44% of its total staff. It’s the Y Combinator-backed Nigerian startup’s second layoff round in just five months.

    Logically

    Reportedly laid off dozens of employees as part of a new cost-cutting effort that aims to ensure “long-term success” in the startup’s mission to curb misinformation online.

    Blue Origin

    Will lay off about 10% of its workforce, affecting more than 1,000 employees. According to an email to staff obtained by CNN, the cuts will largely have an impact on positions in engineering and program management. 

    Redfin

    Announced in an SEC filing that it will cut around 450 positions between February and July 2025, with a complete restructuring set to be completed in the fall, following its new partnership with Zillow.

    Sophos

    Is laying off 6% of its total workforce, the cybersecurity firm confirmed to TechCrunch. The cuts come less than two weeks after Sophos acquired Secureworks for $859 million.

    Zepz

    Will cut nearly 200 employees as it introduces redundancy measures and closes down its operations in Poland and Kenya.

    Unity

    Reportedly conducted another round of layoffs. It’s unknown how many employees were affected.

    JustWorks

    Cut nearly 200 employees, CEO Mike Seckler announced in a note to employees, citing “potential adverse events” like a recession or rising interest rates.

    Bird

    Cut 120 jobs, affecting roughly one-third of its total workforce, TechCrunch exclusively learned. The move comes just a year after the Dutch startup cut 90 employees following its rebrand.

    Sprinklr

    Laid off about 500 employees, affecting 15% of its workforce, citing poor business performance. The new cuts follow two earlier layoff rounds for the company that affected roughly 200 employees.

    Sonos

    Reportedly let go of approximately 200 employees, according to The Verge. The company previously cut 100 employees as part of a layoff round in August 2024. 

    Workday

    Laid off 1,750 employees, as originally reported by Bloomberg and confirmed independently by TechCrunch. The cuts affect roughly 8.5% of the enterprise HR platform’s total headcount.

    Okta

    Laid off 180 employees, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The cuts come just over one year after the access and identity management giant let go of 400 workers.

    Cruise

    Is laying off 50% of its workforce, including CEO Marc Whitten and several other top executives, as it prepares to shut down operations. What remains of the autonomous vehicle company will move under General Motors.

    Salesforce

    Is reportedly eliminating more than 1,000 jobs. The cuts come as the giant is actively recruiting and hiring workers to sell new AI products.

    January

    Cushion

    Has shut down operations, CEO Paul Kesserwani announced on LinkedIn. The fintech startup’s post-money valuation in 2022 was $82.4 million, according to PitchBook.

    Placer.ai

    Laid off 150 employees based in the U.S., affecting roughly 18% of its total workforce, in an effort to reach profitability.

    Amazon

    Laid off dozens of workers in its communications department in order to help the company “move faster, increase ownership, strengthen our culture, and bring teams closer to customers.”

    Stripe

    Is laying off 300 people, according to a leaked memo reported by Business Insider. However, according to the memo, the fintech giant is planning to grow its total headcount by 17%. 

    Textio

    Laid off 15 employees as the augmented writing startup undergoes a restructuring effort.

    Pocket FM

    Is cutting 75 employees in an effort to “ensure the long-term sustainability and success” of the company. The audio company last cut 200 writers in July 2024 months after partnering with ElevenLabs.

    Aurora Solar

    Is planning to cut 58 employees in response to an “ongoing macroeconomic challenges and continued uncertainty in the solar industry.”

    Meta

    Announced in an internal memo that it will cut 5% of its staff targeting “low performers” as the company prepares for “an intense year.” As of its latest quarterly report, Meta currently has more than 72,000 employees.

    Wayfair

    Will cut up to 730 jobs, affecting 3% of its total workforce, as it plans to exit operations in Germany and focus on physical retailers.

    Pandion

    Is shutting down its operations, affecting 63 employees. The delivery startup said employees will be paid through January 15 without severance.

    Icon

    Is laying off 114 employees as part of a team realignment, per a new WARN notice filing, focusing its efforts on a robotic printing system.

    Altruist

    Eliminated 37 jobs, affecting roughly 10% of its total workforce, even as the company pursues “aggressive” hiring.

    Aqua Security

    Is cutting dozens of employees across its global markets as part of a strategic reorganization to increase profitability.

    SolarEdge Technologies

    Plans to lay off 400 employees globally. It’s the company’s fourth layoff round since January 2024 as the solar industry as a whole faces a downturn.

    Level

    The fintech startup, founded in 2018, abruptly shut down earlier this year. Per an email from CEO Paul Aaron, the closure follows an unsuccessful attempt to find a buyer, though Employer.com has a new offer under consideration to acquire the company post-shutdown.

    This list updates regularly.

    On April 24, 2025, we corrected the number of layoffs that happened in March.

    Cody Corrall, Alyssa Stringer, Kate Park

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  • What a long, strange year it's been in enterprise tech news | TechCrunch

    What a long, strange year it's been in enterprise tech news | TechCrunch

    From Salesforce drama to the year of generative AI

    Apologies to the Grateful Dead, but what a long, strange year it’s been in 2023 enterprise tech news. It began with a ton of Salesforce drama and eventually got taken over by generative AI and ChatGPT, which seemed to come out of nowhere to completely dominate the news cycle this year.

    But even though AI clearly influenced much of the news, and even my own coverage, there was still a ton of other enterprise stories that made the news this year.

    The rise of generative AI in the enterprise

    It would be impossible to discuss this year’s news cycle without talking about the impact of generative AI. When OpenAI released ChatGPT at the end of last year, it would have been impossible to understand the impact it would have on enterprise software in the coming months. Yet it has the potential to be truly transformative, changing the way we interact with software, and perhaps represents the biggest change to UX (user experience) design since point-and-click.

    Ron Miller

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  • Remembering the startups we lost in 2023 | TechCrunch

    Remembering the startups we lost in 2023 | TechCrunch

    Not every startup collapse is an FTX or Theranos. They don’t all burn so brightly and explode so spectacularly. More often than not, there won’t be some high-profile court case and prison time. Amanda Seyfried isn’t going to play you in the made for Hulu movie.

    The story of most startup failures is far less exciting. The timing isn’t right, funding dries up, runways run out. Of late, a lot of macroeconomic factors have come into play, as well. These past few years have been especially brutal for startup land. According to a recent PitchBook survey, “approximately 3,200 private venture-backed U.S. companies have gone out of business this year.”

    Combined, those companies raised north of $27 billion. Even more starkly, it’s a figure that doesn’t include companies that failed after going public or were able to find a buyer. That, after all, would really be stretching the definition of a “startup.”

    It’s worth noting, too, that “failure” is subjective. Does bankruptcy qualify? It’s certainly not a good sign with regard to your company’s health, but plenty of companies have managed to bounce back to some degree. This particular question has been cause for plenty of discussion around the old TechCrunch virtual watercooler.

    For the sake of a piece titled “The Startups We Lost,” I’ve opted to limit the list to those startups that — to the best of our knowledge — have hit the point of no return. Pushing up daisies. Pining for the fjords.

    As the final days fall off the calendar, let’s take a moment to remember some of the startups that didn’t make it.

    Braid

    Founded 2019
    $10 million raised

    Image Credits: Braid

    In October, Braid, a four-year-old startup that aimed to make shared wallets more mainstream among consumers, announced it had shut down. Founded in January 2019 by Amanda Peyton and Todd Berman (who left in 2020), San Francisco-based Braid set out to offer friends and family an FDIC-insured, multiuser account that was designed to make it easy “to pool, manage and spend money together.” Braid raised a total of $10 million in funding “over multiple rounds” from Index Ventures, Accel and others.

    What was refreshing about this closure was Peyton’s candor about what led to Braid’s demise. In a blog post, Peyton said that Braid had closed its doors in September, and outlined her experiences — and mistakes — in building the company, ultimately realizing that it wasn’t going to be a viable business venture. An estimated 91% of startups fail. If more founders shared their experience like Peyton did so others could learn from them, maybe that number would go down.

    CloudNordic

    Founded 2007

    a screenshot of CloudNordic's status page that reads, "Unfortunately, it has proved impossible to recreate more data, and the majority of our customers have thus lost all data with us."

    Image Credits: TechCrunch (screenshot)

    CloudNordic might not be a household name, but a destructive ransomware attack on its systems propelled the company into the limelight — and its ultimate demise. The Danish cloud host provider shut down this year after close to two decades of operation following a ransomware attack that wiped out the company’s systems and destroyed all of its customers’ data. The company said it didn’t have the money to pay the hackers, and wouldn’t even if it did. With no options left, the company closed its doors.

    Convoy

    Founded 2015
    More than $1 billion raised

    Convoy trucking

    Image Credits: Convoy

    The digital freight broker abruptly closed in October 2023, just eight months after the Seattle-based company raised $260 million in fresh funding that pushed its valuation to $3.8 billion. Convoy, founded by former Amazon and Google exec CEO Dan Lewis and CTO Grant Goodale, will live on — sort of.

    Supply chain logistics platform Flexport acquired the assets of the shuttered digital freight network with plans to restore Convoy’s trucking logistics services for customers. Flexport didn’t acquire the business or any of its liabilities, but its CEO said it did plan to retain “a small group of team members from their core product and engineering team.”

    Daylight

    Founded 2020
    $20 million raised

    Image Credits: Daylight

    In May 2023, Daylight, an LGBTQ+ banking platform that had raised $20 million in funding, announced it would be shutting down and ceasing operations on June 30. The announcement came months after NY Magazine published an explosive feature on the neobank. The article honed in on Daylight, whose seed and Series A fundraises TechCrunch had covered here and here, respectively. NY Mag’s piece detailed a lawsuit brought on by three former employees as well as alleged fabrications and inappropriate behavior on the part of co-founder and CEO Rob Curtis.

    In a blog published in May, Curtis said he felt like “now is the right time to exit this market.” We heard in October that the suits had been dismissed by a federal court and that Daylight was acquired, but Curtis declined to comment further when we reached out. It was a disappointing outcome but one that highlighted the challenges of neobanks that target specific demographics. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a flurry of such startups raising money, but since then, things have been relatively quiet. Part of the challenge is providing differentiated services that are actually unique to a certain community. Since Daylight’s closure, Curtis has moved on to a tequila-related venture.

    Fuzzy

    Founded 2016
    $80 million raised

    Image Credits: Fuzzy

    Some startups die long, protracted deaths. Not Fuzzy. The pet care telehealth startup was here one day and gone the next. In February, the firm was reportedly hyping its growth on internal Zoom calls. Within months, the company had closed up shop. Fuzzy’s site was taken down without any warning issued to customers.

    From the sound of things, even some top execs were left wondering precisely what had happened to the startup. That certainly hasn’t stopped the competition from attempting to capitalize on Fuzzy’s demise.

    IRL

    Founded 2016
    $200 million raised

    irl logo

    Image Credits: IRL

    IRL’s meltdown was a hot mess. In 2022, the event organizing social app laid off one-quarter of its 100 or so employees. Co-founder and CEO Abraham Shafi put the blame on an extremely volatile market, while stating that the company’s cash runway would last at least until 2024. Then it shut down this June.

    No social network is completely devoid of bots, but an internal investigation by its board of directors found that such accounts constituted around 95% of its 20 million active monthly users. In a lawsuit filed last month, IRL’s co-founders accused their investors of falsifying that figure in order to sabotage the firm, which was previously valued at $1.17 billion.

    IronNet

    Founded 2014
    $400 million raised

    Keith Alexander on stage speaking to Matt Burns at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2017

    IronNet founder Keith Alexander at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2017. Image Credits: Noam Galai / Getty Images

    IronNet, founded by former NSA director Keith Alexander, was a once-promising cybersecurity startup, which at its peak raised more than $400 million in funding. But in the end, IronNet was no match for market forces (and poor leadership). After a bumpy ride going public and rounds of layoffs, Alexander departed as CEO in July and was replaced with the chairperson of the company’s largest investor. IronNet scrambled to stay afloat, but lasted only a few weeks longer before it laid off everyone else and filed for bankruptcy.

    Mandolin

    Founded 2020
    $17 million raised

    Plenty of startups struggled through the pandemic. Others thrived. Founded in June 2020, the concert livestreaming platform was the right startup at the right time. After all, it had only been a few months since venues across the U.S. closed their doors indefinitely. Mandolin’s subsequent rise was swift, taking on big name events with artists ranging from Lil’ Wayne to the Lumineers.

    A year after its founding, the Indianapolis-based firm raised a $12 million Series A, following a $5 million seed round the previous October. In 2022, it seemed as though the platform was still thriving, even as venues across the country had re-opened. Mandolin diversified into other aspects of the live music experience, including venue partnerships and merchandizing.

    This April, however, the startup announced on Instagram that it was closing up shop. “After 3 incredible years,” it noted, “we are sad to announce that Mandolin will no longer be offering the digital fan experiences you’ve come to love.”

    Veev

    Founded 2008
    $597 million raised

    Veev raises $400M

    Image Credits: Veev

    Veev, a real estate developer turned tech-enabled prefab homebuilder, as of November was on the verge of shuttering after reaching unicorn status last year, according to multiple reports. Calcalist reported on November 26 that the company — which raised a staggering $600 million in total, $400 million of which was secured in March of 2022 — was going to have to close up shop after an “abrupt cancellation of a capital-raising initiative.” Later that week, it was reported that Veev was “undergoing liquidation.”

    It was a bit of a shocking turn of events considering just how much money the company had raised not even two years prior. The closure was not the first startup failure for Veev co-founders Heller and Ami Avrahami. Another one of their proptech ventures, Reali, began a shutdown in August of 2022 after raising more than $290 million in debt and equity funding. Zeev Ventures was an investor in both companies.

    ZestMoney

    Founded 2015
    $121 million raised

    ZestMoney founders

    ZestMoney founders resign as Goldman Sachs-backed fintech struggles to raise funds. Image Credits: ZestMoney

    In mid-May, Manish reported on the fact that founders of ZestMoney had resigned from the startup. The Indian fintech, whose ability to underwrite small ticket loans to first-time internet customers, once drew the backing of many high-profile investors, including Goldman Sachs. By December, Manish had reported that ZestMoney was shutting down following unsuccessful efforts to find a buyer.

    The Bengaluru-headquartered startup — which also identified PayU, Quona, Zip, Omidyar Network and Ribbit Capital among its backers — employed about 150 people and had raised over $130 million in its eight-year journey.

    Zume

    Founded 2015
    $445 million raised

    Image Credits: Zume

    “Pizza was our prototype,” co-founder and CEO Alex Garden told me in 2018. Three years after its founding, Zume made a major pivot. While it will forever be remembered as the pizza robot startup (that’s a hard identity to shake), the Southern Californian company cast a wider net. First it was exploring non-pizza delivery trucks. Two years later, it pivoted into sustainable food packaging.

    Throughout its many lives, one certainly can’t pin Zume’s ultimate demise on a failure to adapt. Nor was it a lack of funding, as the company raised nearly half-a-billion in its eight-year history. That includes a 2018 SoftBank round of $325 million that valued the company at north of two billon.

    Zume liquidated its assets in early June.

    Brian Heater

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  • It's not all doom and gloom: When cybersecurity gave us hope in 2023 | TechCrunch

    It's not all doom and gloom: When cybersecurity gave us hope in 2023 | TechCrunch

    A funny — but true — joke at TechCrunch is that the security desk might as well be called the Department of Bad News, since, well, have you seen what we’ve covered of late? There is a never-ending supply of devastating breaches, pervasive surveillance and dodgy startups flogging the downright dangerous.

    Sometimes though — albeit rarely — there are glimmers of hope that we want to share. Not least because doing the right thing, even (and especially) in the face of adversity, helps make the cyber-realm that little bit safer.

    Bangladesh thanked a security researcher for citizen data leak discovery

    When a security researcher found that a Bangladeshi government website was leaking the personal information of its citizens, clearly something was amiss. Viktor Markopoulos found the exposed data thanks to an inadvertently cached Google search result, which exposed citizen names, addresses, phone numbers and national identity numbers from the affected website. TechCrunch verified that the Bangladeshi government website was leaking data, but efforts to alert the government department were initially met with silence. The data was so sensitive, TechCrunch could not say which government department was leaking the data, as this might expose the data further.

    That’s when the country’s computer emergency incident response team, also known as CIRT, got in touch and confirmed the leaking database had been fixed. The data was spilling from none other than the country’s birth, death and marriage registrar office. CIRT confirmed in a public notice that it had resolved the data spill and that it left “no stone unturned” to understand how the leak happened. Governments seldom handle their scandals well, but an email from the government to the researcher thanking them for their finding and reporting the bug shows the government’s willingness to engage over cybersecurity where many other countries will not.

    Apple throwing the kitchen sink at its spyware problem

    It’s been more than a decade since Apple dropped its now-infamous claim that Macs don’t get PC viruses (which while technically true, those words have plagued the company for years). These days the most pressing threat to Apple devices is commercial spyware, developed by private companies and sold to governments, which can punch a hole in our phones’ security defenses and steal our data. It takes courage to admit a problem, but Apple did exactly that by rolling out Rapid Security Response fixes to fix security bugs actively exploited by spyware makers.

    Apple rolled out its first emergency “hotfix” earlier this year to iPhones, iPads and Macs. The idea was to roll out critical patches that could be installed without always having to reboot the device (arguably the pain point for the security-minded). Apple also has a setting called Lockdown Mode, which limits certain device features on an Apple device that are typically targeted by spyware. Apple says it’s not aware of anyone using Lockdown Mode who was subsequently hacked. In fact, security researchers say that Lockdown Mode has actively blocked ongoing targeted hacks.

    Taiwan’s government didn’t blink before intervening after corporate data leak

    When a security researcher told TechCrunch that a ridesharing service called iRent — run by Taiwanese automotive giant Hotai Motors — was spilling real-time updating customer data to the internet, it seemed like a simple fix. But after a week of emailing the company to resolve the ongoing data spill — which included customer names, cell phone numbers and email addresses, and scans of customer licenses — TechCrunch never heard back. It wasn’t until we contacted the Taiwanese government for help disclosing the incident that we got a response immediately.

    Within an hour of contacting the government, Taiwan’s minister for digital affairs Audrey Tang told TechCrunch by email that the exposed database had been flagged with Taiwan’s computer emergency incident response team, TWCERT, and was pulled offline. The speed at which the Taiwanese government responded was breathtakingly fast, but that wasn’t the end of it. Taiwan subsequently fined Hotai Motors for failing to protect the data of more than 400,000 customers, and was ordered to improve its cybersecurity. In its aftermath, Taiwan’s vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan said the fine of about $6,600 was “too light” and proposed a change to the law that would increase data breach fines by tenfold.

    Leaky U.S. court record systems sparked the right kind of alarm

    At the heart of any judicial system is its court records system, the tech stack used for submitting and storing sensitive legal documents for court cases. These systems are often online and searchable, while restricting access to files that could otherwise jeopardize an ongoing proceeding. But when security researcher Jason Parker found several court record systems with incredibly simple bugs that were exploitable using only a web browser, Parker knew they had to see that these bugs were fixed.

    Parker found and disclosed eight security vulnerabilities in court records systems used in five U.S. states — and that was just in their first batch disclosure. Some of the flaws were fixed and some remain outstanding, and the responses from states were mixed. Florida’s Lee County took the heavy-handed (and self-owning) position of threatening the security researcher with Florida’s anti-hacking laws. But the disclosures also sent the right kind of alarm. Several state CISOs and officials responsible for court records systems across the U.S. saw the disclosure as an opportunity to inspect their own court record systems for vulnerabilities. Govtech is broken (and is desperately underserved), but having researchers like Parker finding and disclosing must-patch flaws makes the internet safer — and the judicial system fairer — for everyone.

    Google killed geofence warrants, even if it was better late than never

    It was Google’s greed driven by ads and perpetual growth that set the stage for geofence warrants. These so-called “reverse” search warrants allow police and government agencies to dumpster dive into Google’s vast stores of users’ location data to see if anyone was in the vicinity at the time a crime was committed. But the constitutionality (and accuracy) of these reverse-warrants have been called into question and critics have called on Google to put an end to the surveillance practice it largely created to begin with. And then, just before the holiday season, the gift of privacy: Google said it would begin storing location data on users’ devices and not centrally, effectively ending the ability for police to obtain real-time location from its servers.

    Google’s move is not a panacea, and doesn’t undo the years of damage (or stop police from raiding historical data stored by Google). But it might nudge other companies also subject to these kinds of reverse-search warrants — hello Microsoft, Snap, Uber and Yahoo (TechCrunch’s parent company) — to follow suit and stop storing users’ sensitive data in a way that makes it accessible to government demands.

    Zack Whittaker

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  • 2023 showed cybersecurity isn't immune from brutal layoffs | TechCrunch

    2023 showed cybersecurity isn't immune from brutal layoffs | TechCrunch

    Despite a rise in cyberattacks and breaches, the cybersecurity industry is by no means exempt from the uncertainty inspired by the current economy.

    2023 will likely be remembered as the “year of the layoff.” While many expected the tide to shift after a rough 2022 that saw more than 130,000 tech workers lose their jobs, these unsettling workforce reductions only worsened this year as the industry continued to battle economic uncertainty. TechCrunch has comprehensively tracked these layoffs, which have so far seen more than 240,000 jobs lost across the past 12 months alone, a hefty increase over 2022.

    The cybersecurity sector was once largely untouched by the vast headcount reductions taking place across the wider industry, but 2023 shows no sector is immune. Cybersecurity is not the worst affected sector — that unfortunate accolade appears to have been claimed by the transportation industry. But it’s clear that cybersecurity firms are no longer exempt from layoffs, despite a strong workforce and an ever-increasing number of cyberattacks and breaches.

    According to data from layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi, more than 110 cybersecurity companies have made cuts since the beginning of 2023. We’ve rounded up some of the most notable.

    Sophos cuts 10% of global workforce, or 450 employees

    TechCrunch learned in January that the Britain-based security company Sophos was starting the year with layoffs affecting 10% of its global workforce, or about 450 employees. TechCrunch first learned of the layoffs after hearing of several employees in India who were let go. Sophos blamed the cuts on a “challenging and uncertain macro environment.” In a statement, the company said it was making the move in part to “achieve the optimal balance of growth and profitability to support Sophos’ long-term success” while shuffling its headcount to “support our strategic imperative to be a market leader in delivering cybersecurity as a service.”

    Bishop Fox made ill-timed cuts after throwing conference party

    Cybersecurity firm Bishop Fox laid off around 50 employees, or 13% of its workforce, in May — just days after the company threw a party at the RSA security conference featuring custom-branded beverages. Bishop Fox, which counted approximately 400 employees prior to the cuts, said at the time that it “proactively made these changes in response to the global economic situation and opportunities we identified to make our business more efficient.” The company claimed that while demand for its cybersecurity products remained solid, “we can’t ignore market uncertainty and investment trends in this very different global economy.”

    NCC Group conducts two rounds of layoffs months apart

    U.K. cybersecurity giant NCC Group confirmed in August that it was making further cuts to its workforce, just months after it laid off 7% of staff, or 125 employees, based in the U.K. and across North America. TechCrunch learned of the second round of layoffs from a person with knowledge, and NCC later said that it was letting go of a “small number” of employees in response to “changing market dynamics and client demands.”

    Rapid7 laid off hundreds of employees, shutters offices

    Rapid7, a similarly established U.S. cybersecurity firm, also announced job cuts in August. The company announced plans to lay off 18% of its workforce, affecting more than 400 global employees, which it said was a necessary effort “designed to improve operational efficiencies, reduce operating costs and better align the company’s workforce with current business needs.” At the time, Rapid7 — which describes itself as a “hybrid-first” organization” — said it also planned to permanently close certain office locations as a result of the restructuring.

    Bug bounty giant HackerOne makes cuts ‘necessary’ for long-term survival

    August also saw sweeping layoffs at HackerOne, a widely known bug bounty and penetration testing platform. The San Francisco-based startup announced that it was cutting up to 12% of its workforce, or approximately 50 employees, impacting staff based in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and other countries. HackerOne raised close to $160 million since its inception in 2012, but blamed the cuts on the macroeconomic climate. “These actions are necessary to be successful long-term,” HackerOne CEO Mårten Mickos said in an email to affected employees, calling the workforce reduction a “one-time event.”

    Malwarebytes let go of 100 employees ahead of company split

    Rounding out a relentless month of layoffs, Malwarebytes laid off 100 employees around the world as it prepared for a corporate restructuring that saw the business split into two. The layoffs came almost exactly a year after Malwarebytes eliminated 14% of its global workforce. TechCrunch learned of the cuts from a former employee, who said that the layoffs were made just weeks after several members of the company’s C-suite were let go. While many cybersecurity firms blamed economic headwinds for reductions in headcount, Malwarebytes CEO Marcin Kleczynski told TechCrunch that the layoffs were an exercise in rationalizing expenditures. Kleczynski said the company continued to be “healthy and profitable.”

    IronNet shut down after extensive layoffs

    IronNet, a once-promising cybersecurity startup founded by former NSA director Keith Alexander, laid off all of its remaining staff as it prepared to shutter the faltering business in October. In a regulatory filing, IronNet’s president and chief financial officer Cameron Pforr said the company had ceased all business activities as it prepares for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, effectively liquidating the company’s remaining assets to pay its remaining debts.

    Carly Page

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  • Startups Yearly: The biggest startup stories from 2023 | TechCrunch

    Startups Yearly: The biggest startup stories from 2023 | TechCrunch

    Welcome to Startups Weekly. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday.

    Thank you for subscribing to Startups Weekly. This week, I’m taking my parents to Yosemite to explore the snowy peaks and to see if my car can handle snow. In lieu of a regular Startups Weekly, I figured I’d dive in and give you a reminder of some of the biggest startup stories from 2024 — both on TechCrunch and our subscription sibling TechCrunch+.

    Here are some of the biggest themes that have echoed throughout the startup ecosystem in 2023.

    Crime and punishment

    Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

    Some of the biggest startup stories on TechCrunch in 2023 were related to the deeds and misdeeds of those in the ecosystem.

    By far one of our most-read stories this year was the murder of Bob Lee, best known as the creator of Cash App and former CTO of Square. He was tragically killed in a stabbing incident in San Francisco, in the otherwise usually quiet Financial District. Rolling Stone picked up the story from there, digging into who Bob Lee and his alleged murderer were.

    The other big story was the trial of Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes. She is now serving a prison sentence of 11 years and 3 months after being indicted for wire fraud in a scheme to defraud investors. Theranos, once valued at $10 billion, promised revolutionary blood testing technology but was exposed in 2015 for its nonfunctional technology, which posed health risks to patients. The subsequent unraveling of Theranos led to numerous lawsuits and government investigations. The case serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of fraudulent practices and that the “fake it till you make it” approach that can be prevalent among startups doesn’t always work out.

    The other big “hmm, maybe you shouldn’t have done that” serial story of the year was the Sam Bankman-Fried trial, which extended over five weeks. It turned out to be a spectacle of evasion and memory lapses. The former CEO of FTX faced the jury for several days, delivering a testimony that was remarkable mostly for its lack of substance. When cross-examined by prosecutors about his past decisions and actions, Bankman-Fried’s responses were predominantly “Yup” (372 times), “Not sure” (117 times), and “I don’t remember” (73 times). He was found guilty on all seven charges of fraud and money laundering, and will be sentenced in March 2024. Around the same time, there will likely be a second trial, with a bunch of additional charges.

    More from the courts and legal systems:

    It’s not just the startups . . . :  Former VC Mike Rothenberg, known for hosting extravagant parties, was convicted on 21 counts last month, including for bank fraud, false statements, money laundering, and wire fraud. The conviction brings his journey from a promising entrepreneur, launching a VC firm in 2013, to being a convicted fraudster to a close. He was originally charged with fraud by the SEC in 2018, which resulted him having to pay $31 million. Sentencing in the fraud case is scheduled for March.

    I’m trying to reach you about your extended warranty: The FCC imposed a record $300 million fine on a robocaller operation for scamming people with fake auto warranty sales. This operation made at least 5 billion calls.

    The Swiss army knife for hackers: Flipper Zero, a multi-tool hacking device, is on track to achieve $80 million in sales this year, a significant increase from its $25 million sales last year. Started in 2020, the device can manipulate various systems like garage openers and RFID card systems.

    The fun and quirky

    Apple Vision Pro headset

    Image Credits: Brian Heater

    The world of startups wasn’t just murders, fraud and shenanigans — some of our most-read stories this year were a lot more lighthearted, thank goodness.

    One of the highlights was Apple’s 31 new emojis — including a shaking face for when you’re “shook” and a pink heart because, obviously, we need more heart colors. There are even two pushing hands that could mean “stop” or “high five” — because interpreting vague hand gestures is what we all needed more of. Want to spam your friends with a moose or a jellyfish? Apple had your back this year.

    My other favorites in the more-or-less-quirky-news category:

    [very recognizable drum riff]: MindGeek, the owner of adult entertainment sites such as Pornhub, Brazzers, and RedTube, was acquired by Canadian private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

    Strap this computer to your face: Apple’s new mixed-reality (XR) device made a significant impact with its high-quality hardware and features. It boasts 24 million pixels across two panels and advanced optics. It has brand-new chips to ensure smooth performance without judder or frame drops, with accurate eye tracking and gesture control. Panzer tried it out, and I argued that the device would be a game-changer for startups operating in the space.

    We’re getting a little bored of Elon’s antics: At some point, TechCrunch editor Darrell decided he had enough, and penned this piece — concluding that enough is enough.

    The year of AI

    An illustration of Sam Altman in front of the OpenAI logo

    Image Credits: Darrell Etherington with files from Getty under license

    There can be little doubt that, above all, for better and for worse, 2023 was the year of AI.

    OpenAI was on everybody’s lips. The company made GPT-4 universally available, which got everyone hella excited. It also gave ChatGPT the ability to browse the broader internet, which unlocked a world of functionality and excitement.

    The darker side of AI got its time in the limelight as well. The advancement of AI porn generators, such as Unstable Diffusion, has raised significant ethical and societal concerns. These generators, which have improved in creating more realistic and diverse images, are posing some new risks — and continues to make the internet more toxic, especially for women (the majority of deepfake pornography targets women and is often used as a tool for harassment). We were also successful in tricking Lensa into generating NSFW content by putting crudely photoshopped photos into its source material. In short: maybe deepfakes-for-all is worse than we thought.

    Another big AI drama story of the year was Sam Altman getting fired as OpenAI’s CEO. We put together a whole timeline, because, goodness, that was quite the saga.

    From the desk of “didn’t see that coming”

    SVB forces African banks to rethink their bank options

    Image Credits: Nikolas Liepins/Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

    If there’s one thing startups love doing, it’s throwing curveballs. This year was no exception, and here are a handful of the most surprising ones:

    A banking collapse: Everything was fine one moment, then suddenly one of the biggest startup banks — Silicon Valley Bank, or SVB among friends — took a nosedive. We put together a timeline of what happened, along with a wall of coverage and analysis. Venture debt was one of the big question marks post-collapse.

    The DPReview saga: DPReview, a renowned digital camera review site, was shut down by Amazon after 25 years of operation, before Gear Patrol bought the property and revived it.

    That submarine story: OceanGate trying to dip down to the Titanic and imploding in the process was everywhere for a hot moment. A whistleblower was fired in January 2018 after presenting a scathing quality-control report on the vessel to OceanGate’s senior management, including founder and CEO Stockton Rush — who later died onboard the submarine. We originally covered the company back in 2017 when it first revealed the plans to go 3D-scan the Titanic.

    Is it a bird? Is it a balloon?: Pathfinder 1 is an electric airship that’s giving the Goodyear blimp a run for its money. At 124.5 meters long, it’s like the Hindenburg had a tech-savvy baby with a drone. With 12 electric motors and a penchant for helium (significantly safer than its high-explosive, Hindenburg-exploding hydrogen counterpart), it’s set to conquer the skies at a whopping 75 mph . . . eventually.

    Round after round after round of layoffs: Woof.

    The biggest hits from TC+

    TechCrunch+ is TechCrunch’s subscription service, offering in-depth analysis, exclusive articles, and comprehensive reports on the technology industry, startups, and venture capital. If you’re not a subscriber — well, you should absolutely subscribe.

    My popular Pitch Deck Teardown series is up to more than 75 sample pitch decks, complete with analysis for what’s working and what ain’t. And, of course, there’s oodles of additional amazing content too. Here’s a handful of stories you may have missed:

    From cloud to on-premise: After a decade of cloud transformations, sophisticated enterprises are now developing hybrid strategies to support critical data science initiatives, moving away from exclusive reliance on cloud computing and bringing workloads back to on-premises systems.

    The evolution of layoffs: Back in July, we looked at how the era of tech layoffs was evolving, noting that while it was not over, it was losing some of its intensity and was developing into its own unique trend.

    Stage appropriate over perfection: Startups should focus on creating minimum viable products that are laser-focused on answering specific questions, rather than trying to scale too quickly, wasting resources in the process.

    Hey, OpenAI, generate a marketing strategy: In this case study, we showed how using OpenAI for generating marketing strategies led to significant improvements in SEO ranking on Google, resulting in a substantial increase in site traffic, domain rating, and backlinks in less than a year.

    Build on someone else’s tech and get burned: An update on OpenAI’s ChatGPT allowed for PDF uploads. That was a spanner in the work for startups, especially those built around a feature gap in ChatGPT. It underscored the vulnerability of such businesses to changes in underlying technologies.

    Growth is hard: The former CEO of PlanGrid reflected on key mistakes they made while leading the company to $100 million in annual recurring revenue, offering insights to help other founders avoid similar pitfalls.

    Setting the stage for a battery gold rush: Volkswagen’s breakthrough in lithium-ion battery technology could significantly impact the automotive industry, especially as it grapples with increased costs due to inflation and supply chain issues.

    F you, pay me: If an investor tells you not to take a salary after you’ve raised VC funding, tell them to go do something anatomically strenuous.

    The best laid plans of mice and men: We examine the evolution of fintech over the past decade, looking on several hyped fintech ideas that ultimately failed to transform the financial services industry as intended.

    To remote or not to remote: We looked at the shift in remote work startups, where initial enthusiasm for dedicated remote work tools has waned, as companies have adapted to a hybrid work model rather than a purely remote one, leading to challenges for startups focused solely on remote work solutions.

    Here’s why your pitch deck sucks: In the year of AI, I built a tool that analyzes startup pitch decks (because of course I did — why wouldn’t I build a tool that puts me out of business) and found a ton of interesting data about what startup founders get wrong when they create pitch decks.

    Oh, and because I just know you are crazy curious: The featured image of this post was taken with an iPhone 14 Pro Max. I created the bauble using the Circular Name Ornament creator from Cuttle Labs, along with a Glowforge Aura. After I reviewed the entry-level laser cutter from Glowforge in July, I decided that I just had to have one. Because, well, what kind of nerd would I be if I didn’t set shit on fire on a semi-regular basis.

    Happy New Year — see y’all in 2024!

    Haje Jan Kamps

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