BAYC creator Yuga Labs Completes Restructuring to Focus on Metaverse – Yuga Labs, the organization responsible for the prominent non fungible token (NFT) initiative known as the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), has successfully concluded a reorganization effort in response to the ongoing difficulties in the sector. Yuga Labs CEO Daniel Alegre shared the update on X (previously known as Twitter) on October 17, confirming that the restructuring plan, initially announced in early October, has been successfully completed.
“We now begin the task of refining the focus with our new team configurations,” Alegre said, reiterating that the company will prioritize the execution of Otherside, a gamified and interoperable metaverse project which Yuga started in March 2022. Alegre emphasized that building an “immersive metaverse” platform is hard both technically and creatively.
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Adding: “Otherside is a very important bet for Yuga and when our creative team brought the concept for Meetropolis up to my leadership team, making it a tentpole experience for Otherside felt like a slam dunk.” Yuga Labs co-founder Greg Solano previously announced the company’s restructuring on Oct. 6, stating that Yuga “needed to make some changes” in order to ensure that it’s set up for long-term success.
“With this reorg, Yuga is still over 120 employees, and is focused on specific priorities,” Solano said. He didn’t specify how many people had to leave Yuga Labs as part of the restructuring. Alegre also assured that his top priority during restructuring was to “ensure that those leaving Yuga are treated with the respect and gratitude they deserve.”
He claimed that Yuga’s transition package included “generous severance,” the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act coverage and assistance in finding new job opportunities. The CEO added: “It’s a challenging time, not only for our industry but also for the global economy. The restructure today impacts U.S. team members, and we are actively reviewing the impact on our international teams.”
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This development coincides with a U.S. appeals court, which, on October 16, displayed doubt regarding an endeavor to have Yuga Labs’ trademark lawsuit against artist Ryder Ripps, who created replicas of Yuga’s BAYC NFTs, dismissed. Before this, a collective of BAYC investors had initiated a class-action lawsuit in August 2023 against Yuga Labs and the prestigious art auction house Sotheby’s, accusing the auction house of aiding Yuga Labs in misleadingly promoting the NFT collection.