Brave Software Layoffs

Brave Software has let go of 27 people, or about 15% of its workforce. This is the second round of layoffs for the web browser and search startup within the past year, according to a TechCrunch report.

Founded by Mozilla co-creator Brendan Eich in 2015, the privacy-focused internet company has steadily grown since its inception. According to its latest transparency report, Brave counts nearly 80 million monthly active users, up from 65 million at the end of last year.

Despite its popularity as an alternative browser, particularly within the crypto industry, Brave remains relatively small compared to competitors like Opera and Firefox, and especially against internet search juggernaut Google Chrome.

Brave offers several opt-in crypto services like a native wallet and access to the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS). In 2017, Brave raised about $35 million selling its Ethereum-based Basic Attention Token (BAT), designed to reward users for watching ads.

The firm recently unveiled an AI assistant, Leo, and a bespoke indexing solution. TechCrunch suggested that the latest round of layoffs may be connected to the costs of developing and running AI services.

The Basic Attention Token (BAT), the native token of the Brave browser awarded to users for viewing ads, is down 6% on the day and 91% from its all-time high of $1.90 set in November 2021, according to The Block’s price page.