MEGA, the company behind the Ethereum layer-2 network MegaETH, has cut 20% of its staff as part of a restructuring effort. The layoffs primarily affected employees who contributed to the project’s blockchain, wallet, and ecosystem development. Co-founder Shuyao Kong confirmed the workforce reduction but did not specify the exact number of employees affected or the timeline of the layoffs. She emphasized that the organization’s founders, early employees, and core engineering team remain committed to MEGA.
The restructuring coincides with MEGA’s shift toward developing artificial intelligence products on the MegaETH network. The company has allocated $30 million to this initiative, though Kong did not directly link the layoffs to this new strategy. In a whitepaper, co-founders Yilong Li and Lei Yang proposed an inference market designed to provide users with access to competing AI service providers, addressing concerns about model transparency and data handling.
Kong announced plans to launch a public inference market in December. The workforce reduction follows months of reorganization aimed at integrating new capabilities and streamlining operations. The layoffs highlight the challenges faced by blockchain projects as they pivot toward emerging technologies like AI.