Squarespace, the web company that helps customers build and host their own websites, is laying off about a fifth of its workforce, which will affect hundreds of jobs.
Jeff Seedman, a public relations specialist representing Squarespace, confirmed the layoffs to TechCrunch. The Verge initially reported the layoffs.
“Squarspace is restructuring its organization and reducing its global workforce by approximately 19%, representing approximately 300 employees,” Seedman said. “These changes are intended to simplify the way we operate, refine our priorities, and enable the company to move forward faster as we position Squarespace for its next phase of growth. »
Website building has changed tremendously over the past few years due to the boom in generative AI. “Vibe-coded” website builders, which require only simple prompts from users to create functional front-end designs, have largely disrupted the industry, allowing users to create sites with much less effort.
These types of sites have become an increasingly central part of the website building industry. Last year, rival Wix, the web host, bought Base44 for $80 million. Similar offerings, like Lovable, have attracted significant investor interest; Lovable raised a $400 million Series C round in August, valuing the company at $13.3 billion. Google also recently launched Stitch, a feature that allows users to quickly generate user interface designs.
Squarespace has also started a big push in the field of AI. In 2024, the company launched an AI tool called Blueprint. The company also recently announced Forma, an upcoming native AI platform, which waitlisted users can join.
Squarespace was founded in 2004 and went public in 2021 at a valuation of $10 billion. However, the company struggled in subsequent years to generate enthusiastic interest in the public market. Squarespace has finally decided to go private again through a $7 billion private equity deal in 2024.
An earlier version of this report incorrectly stated that Squarespace had not yet launched AI tools; the story has been updated.
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