Unicorn on Layer 2 blockchain In an effort to make the team more agile, Polygon Labs stated on February 1 that it has fired off 60 workers, or roughly 19% of its total workforce. In the upcoming months, the business will also spin off Polygon ID as a distinct corporation.
This occurs precisely one year after the corporation, in February 2023, let go of 100 workers, or around 20% of its staff.
The current headcount of Polygon, following spinoffs and headcount reductions, is approximately 220. In areas where the company offers health benefits, affected employees will get two months of severance pay in addition to health coverage through the end of February.
Additionally, impacted employees will receive opt-in assistance from the company, allowing them to exchange information about their professional past with recruiters at web3 projects, talent partners at venture capital firms, and hiring managers in the industry.
The remaining staff members will receive a fifteen percent pay increase “effective retroactively to January 1, 2024” for their continued teamwork. A five percent raise will also be given to recent hires, the company announced.
“This decision is not an easy one. Right-sizing for the sake of enhanced performance, rather than for financial reasons, may seem unconventional. The reality is that achieving our mission often demands challenging decisions, and while difficult, the Founders and I agree that we must move forward in a thoughtful way that gives us the greatest chance to execute successfully.”
Marc Boiron, CEO, Polygon
Co-founder of Polygon Sandeep Nailwal wrote on X, saying, “Leaving friends and coworkers behind is never easy, but this was a necessary step to return Polygon Labs to its ‘underdog’ roots.” We become lighter, more agile, and more mission-focused as a result.”
“Our relentless focus is to build the Planetary scale blockchain network for the world which I believe the Polygon tech can play an important role by building a network of aggregated blockchains.”
Sandeep Nailwal, Co-founder, Polygon
Anurag Arjun and Jaynti Kanani, two of the three original co-founders of Polygon, also left the company last year.
Reorganizing the company
In the meanwhile, the business is set to spin off a 33-member Polygon ID in the coming months, following the 10-member division of its investing arm, Polygon Ventures, or P2 Ventures, from Polygon Labs last year.
In a funding round headed by Sequoia Capital India (formerly Peak XV Partners) and including over 40 significant venture capital firms, Polygon raised $450 million in February 2022.
Through the token sale, a number of other investors, including Tiger Global, SoftBank, Galaxy Digital, Republic Capital, Makers Fund, Steadview Capital, and Elevation Capital, also took part in the round.
Polygon has 7-8 product lines and 7,000 decentralized apps under development on its network back then. According to Nailwal, the blockchain network has grown to include four main product line segments and between 60,000 and 70,000 decentralized applications as of October 2023.
Additionally, Nailwal stated that the business had a respectable financial runway for the foreseeable future. This comprises between $170 and $200 million from its last investment round in addition to around $1 billion in MATIC tokens.
