Israeli creative-tech company Artlist said it will lay off 200 employees, about 40% of its 500-person workforce, in a strategic reorganization aimed at making the company “AI-native.” Most of those affected are expected to be in Israel, where the company’s offices are in Tel Aviv and Kibbutz Afikim.
The company told mako that the move comes while it is still growing business-wise and technologically, and that it is designed to create a flatter, faster and more autonomous structure. Artlist said it has begun reviewing about 200 roles and that the relevant employees have been called in for hearings as part of the process.
Artlist said the restructuring is being carried out from a position of “economic resilience and continued growth.” It added that it recently surpassed $300 million in annual recurring revenue, or ARR, and has posted 50% year-over-year growth. The company said it will provide broad support and favorable terms to the employees leaving.
Founded in 2016 by co-CEOs Ira Belsky and Ittzik Elbaz, together with music-industry colleagues Eyal Raz and Assaf Ailon, Artlist says it now has more than 50 million customers. In late May, it announced plans for its first feature film, a horror movie called Terrarium, to be made with a hybrid production model combining traditional filming and AI tools, alongside producer Steven Schneider. The company also produced an AI-generated Super Bowl ad in five days and released a Christmas AI video in December that it said cost just $3,000.
