The creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club has been struggling with a changing market and still plans to focus on its Otherside metaverse project.
Greg Solano, CEO of Yuga Labs, sent a message to the company’s staff stating that he had a “tough day,” which he later shared with the public on X. Following an all-hands meeting where layoffs were announced, some of those workers had an even worse day. As Solano put it, Yuga lost its direction. In the two months since he became CEO, Solano claimed in his memo to the employees that he had been evaluating the business, and his assessment was unsettling:
The company’s founding principle of putting creativity first has been weakened by complex business procedures. Despite our best efforts and sincerity, we somehow wind ourselves in committees and groups. More plans than ships are made. The vibrant creator royalties energised our entire ecology. We’re in hard mode right now, Solano stated, but he has a strategy.
Solano mentioned the April 17 announcement of the spinout of HV-MTL and Legends of the Mara as examples of how some reorganizational procedures had already been completed. Faraway, a game company already working with Yuga, bought those rights and brought Spencer Tucker, the chief gaming officer of Yuga, with them. Solano stated in his statement from April 26 that Yuga would focus on growing its Otherside metaverse initiative.
Won Kim revealed his appointment as the Yuga head of brand partnerships on X, right before Solano made his announcement. According to his LinkedIn biography, Kim was a co-founder of the consulting firm and nonfungible token (NFT) fund Bored Room Ventures before leaving for Yuga. NFT collectibles were invented by Yuga, but the company has had difficulty as the industry has grown. The business experienced reorganisation in October, including a round of layoffs.