PIP Labs Sheds Staff as Story Protocol Leans Into AI

PIP Labs, the company behind Story Protocol, a layer-1 network for licensing and maintaining intellectual property, has let go of several employees as it explores opportunities associated with artificial intelligence.

The reductions include five full-time employees and three contractors, representing around 10% of staff contributing to Story across various entities, the company told Decrypt. That includes the Story Foundation and infrastructure layer Poseidon, according to Story Chief Protocol Officer Andrea Muttoni.

“PIP Labs is sharpening focus [through] a small workforce adjustment,” she said in a statement to Decrypt, noting that the company has begun leaning into IP infrastructure for AI, with a focus on AI trading data and the emergence of AI agents.

In a Telegram message reviewed by Decrypt, a former employee said the layoffs pertained to 15% of the staff behind Story Protocol, including staff that worked on events.

When Story unveiled an $80 million Series B funding round in 2024, PIP Labs positioned the network as a new way to reduce friction for creatives, by allowing them license and remix IP without the need of rent-seeking lawyers. Through programmable licensing, Story is designed to automate royalty payments.

The funding round valued PIP Labs at $2 billion and was led by venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, drawing participation from individuals including Walt Disney Imagineering executive Scott Trowbridge and pseudonymous NFT collector Cozomo de’ Medici.

The network debuted last February alongside its native IP token, which has fallen 86% to about $0.80 over the past year, according to CoinGecko. In September, the token reached an all-time high of $14.78, equating to a market cap of nearly $3.4 billion.

That month, a Story-based meme coin modeled on “Baby Shark” creator Pinkfong collapsed after a dispute emerged over IP from the South Korean firm behind the viral YouTube hit. On X, Story apologized for the confusion, noting that it wasn’t involved in licensing matters between IP World, a platform for IP-backed meme coins, and other entities.

Muttoni said Story remains focused on IP, whether that touches industries like media or biotech, but its latest round of layoffs suggests the company has grown increasingly interested in machine-based users as opposed to humans. The shift comes as companies including Coinbase race to bring crypto wallets for agents to market.

Last year, Poseidon, a company incubated by Story, raised $15 million in a seed funding round also led by Andreessen Horowitz. The startup allows AI developers to access legally cleared training data, and Muttoni said Poseidon’s recent “traction is shaping where Story will double down.”

In January, Poseidon introduced a dataset containing 33,000 hours of audio across 17 languages. On X, Poseidon Chief Scientist Sandeep Chinchali said audio represents a limiting factor for AI because it is becoming a primary interface between humans and AI.

PIP Labs’ layoffs follow a series of staff reductions among crypto industry firms this year. Earlier this week, the team behind Ethereum layer-2 network Optimism let go of 20 employees. And last month, Jack Dorsey’s Block Inc. let go of 4,000 employees—roughly 40% of its workforce—attributing the move to its pivot towards AI alongside PIP Labs.