NFT fantasy sports startup Sorare lays off 13% of staff as web3 gaming struggles

Sorare, a web3-enabled fantasy sports startup, laid off 22 employees in its New York office in February as it centralizes some product development work at its Paris headquarters. CEO Nicolas Julia said the move will let the product team collaborate more effectively across its football, baseball and basketball offerings, and the company plans to backfill most of the laid-off roles in Paris, with more than 20 hires planned over six months. A source said the layoffs were not financially driven but that Sorare's growth timeline is longer than first expected. Sorare last raised a $680 million Series B in 2021 at a $4 billion valuation, and web3 startups raised $7 billion in 2023, down 74% from 2022.