As Starware transitions from an infrastructure network to a product-oriented strategy, it will reduce its workforce

StarWare is laying off employees and restructuring its operations as the company shifts from infrastructure to building revenue-generating products, co-founder Eli Ben-Sasson announced on social media on Monday.

Following what I said at the All Hands meeting, I'm sharing the message I shared with the StarkWare team here.

========Starkware is refining its strategy, with a clear goal – to lead the blockchain.

To date, we have confirmed our position as a technology leader: we have built the best ZK…

– Eli Ben-Sasson | Starknet.io (@EliBenSasson) April 13, 2026

The blockchain company that pioneered ZK-STARK technology for off-chain computing and on-chain verification is building high-value, revenue-generating applications on its proprietary stack.

Ben-Sasson described the move as necessary to return the company to a “startup mode” mindset and improve product-market fit. He did not disclose the number of offers.

“We've built the best, most secure and battle-tested ZK Tech on the blockchain. We've redefined blockchain using our technology, but that's not enough,” said Ben Sasson. “I look forward to our next chapter with confidence, where we will use it to introduce new novel products that generate revenue and cannot be built on other blockchains today.”

StarkWare organizes into two independent business units, one focused on monetized applications and the other on StarkNet development. Each division oversees its own engineering, production, business development and go-to-market.

STARWare was founded in 2018 by a group of STARK technology innovators, with decades of academic cryptography research.

In May 2022, the group announced a $100 million funding round, raising its valuation to $8 billion, more than four times its $2 billion valuation at the end of 2021.

Backed by investors including GreenOx Capital, Koatu and Tiger Global, the Ethereum scaling company uses STARK-based zero-knowledge abstractions to improve scalability and reduce gas costs, supporting high-use applications and building StarkNet as a broad developer platform.