Seattle-based Code.org laid off 18 employees, or about 14% of its staff, the nonprofit confirmed to GeekWire on Wednesday.
“Code.org has made the difficult decision to part ways with 18 colleagues as part of efforts to ensure our long-term sustainability,” the organization said in an emailed statement. “Their contributions helped millions of educators and students around the world, and we are grateful for their efforts.”
Code.org was launched in 2013 by brothers Hadi and Ali Partovi with a mission to expand computer science education to K-12 students. Backed by nearly $60 million in funding from the likes of Microsoft, Amazon, Google and others, Code.org counts 102 million students and 3 million teachers on its platform today, with 232 million projects created by students around the world.
CEO Hadi Partovi is a former Microsoft manager and was an early investor in companies including Facebook, DropBox, Airbnb and Uber.
“Our mission remains unchanged,” the organization said in its statement. “We will continue our Hour of AI campaign, along with our work to reform policies and new curriculum supporting CS+AI education in classrooms.”
Following the cuts, Code.org’s staff now numbers 107.
Previously:
- ‘We are all kids in the age of AI’: Trevor Noah teaches 5th graders — and learns a few things himself
- Code.org CEO rips NY Times for stoking ‘populist fears’ over computer science jobs and AI
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