Fiverr, the $870 million dollar freelancing marketplace, just laid off 250 employees.

17 Sept 2025 · 1 min

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In this commentary, the speaker outlines Fiverr's recent decision to lay off 250 employees as part of a strategic shift toward an AI‑first model under CEO Mika Kaufman. The CEO has previously warned that AI will impact many jobs, including his own, and has already experimented with AI‑driven tools such as Neo, Fiverr Go, and Dynamic Matching. The layoff is framed as a move to smaller, flatter teams that are "supercharged" by AI, reflecting a broader industry choice between remaining AI‑absent or becoming AI‑native. Kaufman argues that AI‑native is the only viable path forward, even if it requires painful short‑term actions. The speaker concludes with practical advice for other companies: treat the organization as AI‑first, automate easy tasks, use AI to accelerate harder work, and allocate top talent to strategic, high‑impact activities.

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Fiverr, the $870 million freelancing marketplace, just laid off 250 employees, and it is all because of AI. The CEO, Mika Kaufman, says Fiverr is going back to startup mode and becoming an AI-first company. A few months ago, he even told his team that AI is coming for a lot of jobs, even his job as CEO. Fiverr has already tested AI with products like Neo, Fiverr Go, and Dynamic Matching. But now they want to go bigger, with smaller teams, fewer managers, all supercharged by AI. And here's why this matters. Companies choose to be AI-absent or AI-native. CEOs like Mika Kaufman believe AI-native is the only option for businesses to succeed moving forward. And they're willing to make painful decisions in order to make that transition. So, what should you do? Start thinking of your company as AI-first. Automate the easy jobs, use AI to speed up the hard jobs, and focus your best people on the work that pushes your company forward.