"We stood with tears in our eyes": AI21 founders talk about the crisis - and the turnaround

AI21 founders Yoav Shoham and Ori Goshen give their first interview since the latest organizational change, recounting the crisis: laying off 60% of employees, the departure of co-founder Amnon Shashua, and the new focus on optimizing AI agents, which earned recognition from Nvidia.

AI21 founders Yoav Shoham and Ori Goshen give their first interview since the company's latest organizational change, recounting the crisis and the turnaround. The company, founded nearly a decade ago by Shoham, Goshen, and Amnon Shashua, has shifted its business focus four times, laid off 60% of its workforce (about 110 out of 180), and dealt with Shashua's departure in June. It is now focusing on optimizing and managing AI agents for enterprises, and received public recognition from Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, at the company's European conference. Shoham describes the company meeting where they announced the layoffs as 'mentally difficult' and 'the hardest hour I've ever had in my life.' Goshen says: 'Suddenly there's a feeling that you've found it.' The company has raised $336 million from investors including Google, Nvidia, Intel, and Pitango, and currently employs 70 people.