Glowforge, the Seattle-based maker of 3D laser engravers, has laid off 30 employees, co-founder and CEO Dan Shapiro confirmed to GeekWire on Friday.
“We’ve had to make some tough calls about parting ways with amazing people,” Shapiro said in an emailed statement. “They’ve helped us accomplish incredible things. And as we prepare for the opportunities ahead, we realized we had to make these changes to get ready for what’s next.”
Shapiro declined to get into specific reasons for the cuts or supply an updated headcount number. The startup employed 145 people as of July, when GeekWire got a preview of its latest product, a lower-priced machine called Aura, designed to bring home crafting to a wider audience of consumers.
Shapiro said he’s “grateful and indebted” to the people who got Glowforge to where it is, as the company looks toward “big plans” in 2024.
“As the CEO, I’m responsible for the impacts this has on our departing colleagues, and we are doing everything we can to help,” he said. “We’ve made sure the people affected have outplacement preserve, severance, visa assistance, and 12 months of paid medical coverage to preserve them.”
Glowforge is also compiling an opt-in list of people affected and encouraging other employers to email great-people@glowforge.com for an introduction.
Shapiro founded Glowforge in 2015 with fellow startup veterans Mark Gosselin, the current CTO, and Tony Wright, who left the company in 2017. Shapiro previously sold the startup Sparkbuy to Google, and he created Robot Turtles, a coding board game for kids that was one of the most successful campaigns ever on Kickstarter.
The company raised $20 million as part of an extended Series E funding round in May, and has raised $135 million to date.
