Matter Labs to cut 16% of workforce

The company behind ZKsync told Blockworks that the decision was made to make the team more “lean” as it moves into its next phase

article-image

Matter Labs and Adobe stock modified by Blockworks

share

Matter Labs, the company behind ZKsync, will lay off 16% of its workforce, or 24 employees, in the company’s first headcount reduction since its inception six years ago.

“Unfortunately, this learning curve isn’t always perfectly linear. Organizational complexity has a tendency to accumulate over time […] We are ensuring that we have the right roles and people in place to be effective in accomplishing our mission,” Matter Labs president Nana Murugesan exclusively told Blockworks. 

Murugesan, who joined Matter Labs in April, added that the decision was made to stay “lean.” 

But it was also made as part of Matter Labs’ move into its “next phase” of decentralization and its need to hone down the “right roles that need to be in place.”

Read more: Coinbase exec departs for zkSync development company

Matter Labs has embraced Ethereum philosophy, including the philosophy of subtraction. We concentrated on a single mission, which is about accelerating the mass adoption of crypto for personal sovereignty and staying lean,” he explained. 

Both Murugesan and CEO Alex Gluchowski clarified the decision was not due to the financial situation of the company, which still plans to carry out “strategic hiring.”

Loading Tweet..

“Our financial position remains strong, which we believe will enable us to thrive even in a multi-year bear market. The demand for our technology is also steadily growing, with around a dozen chains launching on the Elastic Chain this year,” Murugesan said.

In 2022, Matter Labs raised $200 million in a Series C led by Dragonfly and Blockchain Capital.

“We were always very conscious to not overgrow, not make the typical startup mistakes because we were always focused on the long-term goal,” Gluchowski said. “You might have amazing talent, but it might not be the people who you necessarily need for what you need to accomplish, unfortunately.”

Per Matter Labs, impacted employees will be given “several months” of severance pay, extended healthcare benefits and placement support.

“We remain committed to the mission. Our mission has remained unchanged since day one of Matter Labs. We’ve always been very articulate on advancing the freedom for everyone in the world by accelerating the adoption of crypto technology, public blockchains,” Gluchowski said.

“And we believe that there is the right architecture for [Elastic Chain],” he continued. Hyperchain was renamed Elastic Chain back in July.

“The Elastic Chain is this ultimate vision of connecting the rollups on Ethereum,” Gluchowski added, saying that it remains a priority for Matter Labs, which will continue to build and expand as it continues to see “encouraging” demand.

Updated September 3, 2024 at 10:49 am ET: Added tweet from Matter Labs’ CEO.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (2).png

Research

We’re bullish on the PUMP token. We believe Pump.fun's brand strength, existing integrations, product roadmap, and strategic levers justify PUMP's TGE valuation, and expect the token to re-rate meaningfully higher in the months ahead.

article-image

Crypto’s highest purpose might be to make markets better by making them bigger

article-image

The non-profit’s “Project Open” seeks to let stocks trade directly on Solana

article-image

The acquisition is Pump.fun’s first, and comes just days before its planned ICO

article-image

As Trump’s tariff war reignites, everyone is assuming the dollar will continue its path lower. But the journey might be bumpy

article-image

A valuation model for “blockchain GDP”

article-image

The mini app combines vibe-coding with a hypercasual game feed and is coming to the new Coinbase Wallet