Israeli AI Startup Bria Lays Off One-Third of Workforce in Strategy Pivot
Israeli AI startup Bria has laid off 20 employees, cutting one-third of its workforce, to focus on a new visual marketing platform backed by $65 million in total funding.
Israeli generative artificial intelligence startup Bria has laid off 20 employees, representing one-third of its 60-person workforce, as part of a strategic reorganization. According to the company, the staff reductions are designed to sharpen its focus on a newly launched platform tailored specifically for enterprise marketing professionals.
Founded in 2020 and led by co-founder and CEO Yair Adato, Bria develops visual generative AI tools enabling organizations to create and edit marketing and branding imagery and videos. The company has raised a total of $65 million to date, including a $40 million funding round secured in early 2025. Key investors include Red Dot Capital, Entry Capital, Intel Capital, Publicis, and Getty Images, with which Bria established a strategic partnership in 2022.
Strategic Pivot and Market Competition
Bria operates in the competitive generative AI sector, emphasizing regulatory compliance, ethics, and copyright protection for enterprise clients across advertising, gaming, media, and retail. The startup competes against established marketing design tools such as Adobe and Canva, alongside advanced foundational image and video models developed by industry giants like Google and OpenAI.
Most of the layoffs affected research personnel located outside of Israel, streamlining the global model development team into a localized Israeli unit. Head of Research Ron Mokady has departed the company, while Chief Technology Officer Misha Feinstein remains in place to lead ongoing research and development. Company representatives stated that Bria retains a solid financial runway to sustain its long-term operations while deploying its new visual AI agent software.
