Silicon Valley Unicorn Snorkel AI Downsizes Unicorns, Keeps AI; Humans Beware
Silicon Valley’s $1.3 billion darling, Snorkel AI, decided to cut a modest 13% (that’s 31 out of 240 employees) this Wednesday, right after bragging about their $100 million Series D round this May. They’re claiming to 'deprioritize some legacy business areas,' which apparently means software engineers get canned while AI engineers clutch their job security like it’s a winning lottery ticket. Snorkel aims to automate pricey human data labeling but ironically has to lay off actual humans—including weathering the same storm as Scale AI, who recently sliced 14% of staff and 500 contractors after a messy Meta love affair cost them big clients. They said it’s about focusing energy on 'areas with greatest impact,' which probably sounds better than just saying 'we ran out of unicorn dust'.
Share the Story
Snorkel AI just conducted a Silicon Valley magic trick: turning $100 million in funding into pink slips for 31 engineers while keeping AI wizards safe—proof that in tech layoffs, humans are as disposable as yesterday’s software updates.
Remember when startups promised to automate humans out of jobs? Snorkel AI is sticking to the script by ditching engineers and holding on only to their AI sorcerers. Plot twist: Gig economy meets cut economy.
Scale AI got ghosted by Google after Meta’s takeover, now Snorkel slashes people faster than their valuation climbed. Silicon Valley’s layoffs are basically their version of a group hug—if the hug was made of exit signs.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 9/19/2025 | Author: Charles Rollet
More Articles in Business
Salesforce AI Flops, Google Car-Dwellers & Senior Homebuyers Take Over
KPMG’s 450K Sq.Ft NYC HQ: Employee Feedback or Round Table Cult?
Rivian CEO’s $4.6B Stock Option: Billionaire or Billion Procrastinator?
DoorDash Execs Fail at Delivery, Beta-Test Their Own Chaos
Parenting & Two Jobs: Health Writer Floors Architectural Chaos!
