PIP Labs Cuts 10% of Staff to Double Down on AI Training Data and IP Infrastructure

PIP Labs, the developer of Layer1 IP blockchain Story Protocol, recently cut about 10% of its staff (5 full-time employees and 3 contract workers) to reallocate resources and focus on AI agent and AI training data-related intellectual property infrastructure.

The company completed an $80 million Series B funding round in 2024, valued at approximately $2 billion, led by Andreessen Horowitz. Its ecosystem-incubated project Poseidon (AI data platform) is providing compliant training data for AI developers, whose growth is seen as a key driver of this strategic adjustment.

This adjustment reflects the crypto industry's focus on the AI+IP intersection, where blockchain technology is expected to address the copyright and traceability pain points of AI training data.