Photo editing app VSCO has confirmed that it has laid off 24 employees amid a restructuring drive to refocus the company’s efforts towards creating tools for professional photographers.
In an internal memo seen by TechCrunch, VSCO’s CEO Eric Wittman said the company’s consumer business had declined more than expected, and some of its new growth initiatives didn’t yield the expected results. He noted that the company had been EBITDA-positive for three of the past four years. And despite a decline in consumer business, other lines saw growth, even if it was not to the company’s liking. In the memo, he also claimed that VSCO’s core app is installed on more U.S. devices than Reddit.
The company told TechCrunch that the layoffs impacted its marketing, tech, and program management teams.
“Last week, VSCO said goodbye to 24 employees as a result of a company restructure [sic],” Wittman said in an emailed statement. “Valued members across all departments were impacted. Every person leaving has contributed meaningfully to VSCO and our mission, and we are deeply grateful for their impact. The company is restructuring and adjusting internal operations to be more efficient and effective in delivering long-term success and value for photographers.”
“To succeed over the next 5 years, we need to operate as an AI-native company, taking bold but focused bets and strengthening the foundation we’ve built through our Pro business, AI Lab, TFP, and Sites,” Wittman wrote in the memo.
VSCO said that to power growth, it wants to increase brand awareness as well as work on AI-powered features across the line. The company plans to work on a revamped “AI native” editor, and build an AI assistant that could help users complete tasks across its tools. The startup also plans to redesign its public Photo Galleries feature, which lets photographers curate their portfolio and showcase their work.
Last year, VSCO launched a marketplace to connect photographers and brands for projects. This year, VSCO focused on shipping AI-powered products such as Canvas for collaboration and new editing features.
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As consumer apps like Canva, Google Photos and Adobe Lightroom focus on adding AI features to their products, it appears VSCO may have realized that instead of AI chops, carving a niche for itself by providing better tools and a dedicated platform for pro photographers would be a good strategy.
