.png){kind=logo}
MEGA, the organization behind Ethereum layer-2 network MegaETH, has reduced its workforce by 20% while expanding into artificial intelligence products. Co-founder Shuyao Kong disclosed the cuts on November 13, three days after the former MegaETH Foundation announced a USD 30 million commitment to new development.
In a November 13 X post, Kong said MEGA had reorganized its teams over several months to pursue a different business direction. The process brought in new capabilities but reduced overall staffing by one-fifth.
The departing employees had helped establish the blockchain, develop its wallet, support other projects and manage communications, she said. Kong did not disclose the number of affected employees, the total workforce before the cuts or the date each position ended.
However, she said the founders, early employees and core engineering team would continue working on the project. She also offered to connect departing staff with potential employers.
“We have a lot to prove, and a lot of work ahead,” Kong wrote. Her statement did not specify whether the cuts would affect the blockchain's development schedule or the group's planned AI products.
On November 10, the MegaETH Foundation changed its name to MEGA and committed USD 30 million from its existing treasury to new products. Its first planned offering is a public AI inference market scheduled for December 2026.
AI inference involves using an existing model to produce answers or other results. MEGA intends to create a market where customers can choose between providers offering comparable services. The organization plans to build its new products on the MegaETH blockchain.
The group describes its proposed approach as “Purified Intelligence.” In a November white paper, authors Yilong Li and Lei Yang said buyers may avoid cheaper AI providers if they cannot confirm which model those providers use or how they protect customer data.
The proposal calls for evidence about model identity, privacy and service standards to help buyers compare providers. However, the white paper says blockchain records alone cannot establish whether a provider completed an AI task to the agreed standard.
MEGA has not yet published a detailed list of providers for its December marketplace. The staff reduction announcement also did not say whether the USD 30 million allocation or the launch timetable had changed.
MEGA's move toward developing products internally began before this week's announcements. In July, MegaETH closed its Mega Mafia accelerator after two cohorts supported about 20 teams that raised approximately USD 80 million combined.
At the time, Kong said many successful projects had moved away from the network. Global Token Exchange planned its own chain, while Noise chose Base and HelloTrade moved toward Monad. MegaETH said it would focus more resources on its own applications.
The network subsequently continued developing its token-based economic program. The MEGA token launched on April 30 after ten ecosystem applications met a performance target. Its fixed supply totals 10 billion tokens, with 53.3% allocated to performance-linked staking rewards.
In May, the foundation also began buying back MEGA tokens using net revenue generated by the issuer of USDm, a stablecoin linked to the ecosystem. The organization has not announced changes to those arrangements alongside its latest staffing decision.
ALSO READ: Coffeezilla Probes Trump’s Crypto Empire and USD 500 Million UAE Deal