Brave Layoffs Amidst Economic Challenges
Brave Software, the maker of the Brave Browser and Search engine, has laid off 9% of its staff across departments. The company did not specify how many people were affected, but said the decision was driven by the tough economic climate.
"Brave eliminated some positions as part of our cost management in this challenging economic environment. Several departments were affected, amounting to 9% of our staff,"
a company spokesperson told TechCrunch in a statement.
The layoffs come as Brave is taking steps to bolster its revenue sources. In April, the company ditched Bing's index to start relying on its own indexing solution. In May, Brave released its own search API for clients, with plans starting from $3 per 1,000 queries. The API also offers different plans for AI data model training, data with storage rights, spellcheck, and autosuggest. Last month, Brave introduced image, news, and video results as part of its Search API.
Brave is also testing a native AI assistant called Leo for its browser. While it plans to make it available to all users, Brave said that Leo will have a premium tier with features like higher rate limits and access to more conversation models. The company noted that this will help it pay for the cost of API access and hosting.
In July 2023, Brave CEO Brendan Eich announced that the company would implement on-chain BAT payouts without Know-Your-Customer (KYC) verification. This is part of BAT's ongoing roadmap to streamline rewards for Brave browser users while preserving their privacy.
Brave Software has raised $42.3 million in over seven funding rounds, backed by Page One Ventures and R/GA Ventures.
The layoffs at Brave are a sign of the challenges facing the tech industry as a whole. The current economic climate is forcing many companies to make cuts, and even profitable companies like Brave are not immune.
Despite the layoffs, Brave remains committed to its mission of building a more privacy-focused internet. The company is taking steps to bolster its revenue sources, and it is developing new products and services, such as its own search engine and AI assistant.
It remains to be seen how the layoffs will impact Brave's long-term growth. However, the company has a strong team and a loyal user base. It is well-positioned to weather the current economic storm and emerge stronger.
