Eigen Labs Axes 25% of Staff to Focus on Building EigenCloud

Eigen Labs cut its workforce by 25%, losing 29 roles, as CEO Sreeram Kannan said he restructured the company to focus on developing EigenCloud, what he called a “verifiable” alternative to existing, opaque cloud services.

The Seattle-based startup said the dismissals were not a cash-crunch response. The comany is backed by $220 million in venture funding, including a $100 million Series B round led by a16z in February that gave it a $1 billion valuation.

“As difficult as these changes are, they sharpen our focus as a company and ensure our teams are structured to sustainably pursue a single, ambitious goal: to build the world’s first verifiable cloud platform,” Kannan said in a post on X. “We move forward with a tighter strategy, renewed energy, and a team laser-focused on our mission.”

EigenLayer, the restaking protocol that underpins the project, and its data-availability sibling EigenDA will remain online as part of EigenCloud, Kannan added in separate post.

Employees leaving company will receive three months of pay, accelerated token vesting, continued health coverage, and help finding new jobs, he said. He also invited other crypto firms to recruit the departing staff, signaling a wish to keep talent inside the ecosystem.