Brave Software, the developer of the privacy-focused web browser, just laid off 27 employees, representing 15% of its workforce. This is the second round of layoffs within the past year.
Challenging growth
Brave Software was founded in 2015 by Mozilla co-creator Brendan Eich, and the company saw consistent growth since its inception.
Their latest transparency report reveals that nearly 80 million people use Brave each month, a big increase from 65 million at the end of the previous year.
But Brave still remains a smaller player in the web browser market, especially when compared to giants like Chrome.
But it’s undoubtedly popular, particularly among those in the cryptocurrency space, by offering features such as a native crypto wallet and access to the InterPlanetary File System, the IPFS.
Financial struggles
While Brave has become a popular alternative for privacy-conscious users, the company still faces challenges.
The recent layoffs might be linked to the costs associated with Brave’s new AI services, such as the Leo AI assistant and a custom indexing solution.
These developments could have increased operational expenses, leading to difficult decisions regarding staff reductions, but of course, there is no official statement about this, we only have speculations.
New features costs money to develop and maintain, that’s for sure.
Brave’s ecosystem, what’s next?
The layoffs and financial pressures could have implications for Brave’s ecosystem too, including its cryptocurrency offerings.
The browser’s native token, the Basic Attention Token experienced a 6% drop in value in a single day and right now is down 91% from its all-time high of $1.90.
