Mo Shaikh Steps Down as Aptos Labs CEO

Aptos Labs Co-Founder and CEO Mo Shaikh has stepped down from his position to "start a new chapter," he announced on the social media platform X Thursday.

The firm's co-founder and CTO, Avery Ching, will take over as CEO "to drive the company into its next phase of growth," Shaikh continued. An Aptos Labs representative informed The Block that Ching will focus on technological innovation and faster product delivery to enhance the Aptos ecosystem.

"Today I am stepping away from Aptos Labs to start a new chapter," Shaikh wrote. "One of my true passions lies in building companies from the ground up, and we have done that at Aptos Labs by building a world-class team. I leave Aptos Labs with the utmost confidence in the team and strongly believe the talent and drive of Aptos Labs will bring our collective vision to life in the near future."

In 2022, Shaikh was involved in a resolved lawsuit concerning an alleged conspiracy to deprive an early-stage investor of company equity, as previously reported by The Block.

Aptos Labs is a blockchain firm developing the Layer 1 blockchain Aptos. In November, the firm added former Grayscale Investments CEO Michael Sonnenshein and OpenAI Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil to its advisory board.