Animoca’s Sandbox overhauls as co-founders confirm new strategic roles

The Sandbox, a metaverse-focused subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Web3 firm Animoca Brands, is restructuring its operations, with its co-founders moving into new strategic roles.

Co-founders Arthur Madrid and Sebastien Borget have transitioned as part of ongoing business optimization at The Sandbox, Borget told Cointelegraph on Thursday.

Co-founder Madrid moved from CEO to chairman, while Borget takes on the role of global ambassador, representing The Sandbox at industry events worldwide.

“Both remain deeply involved in The Sandbox and its ecosystem, with key initiatives to be announced later this year through the appropriate channels,” Borget said.

AI advancements trigger staff trimming

As part of the restructuring, The Sandbox is laying off staff, Borget confirmed to Cointelegraph, though he did not provide specific numbers.

“As The Sandbox matures, we are continuously optimising our operations for maximum efficiency,” the executive said, adding that a key part of this strategy involves deploying advancements of artificial intelligence.

“The impact of AI advancements in gaming have been well documented, and allows us to accelerate our deployment of content, features, and LiveOps while maintaining a leaner, more agile team,” Borget said, adding:

“While decisions that impact personnel are undoubtedly difficult and not made  lightly, they are necessary to adapt to technological advances and ensure The Sandbox’s long-term success,” he said.

In addition to AI advancements, The Sandbox will also benefit from the integration of resources and shared services from Animoca Brands, Borget told Cointelegraph.

Reports pointed to 50% layoffs

Borget’s statement followed on earlier reports alleging that The Sandbox was laying off at least 50% of its staff, with the founders being pushed aside.

to an article by The Big Whale, the affected teams particularly include those in Argentina, Uruguay, South Korea, Thailand and Turkey.

Additionally, the platform is potentially planning to soon announce a memecoin launchpad on Coinbase’s layer-2 network Base, modeled after the Solana-based Pump.fun marketplace, allowing users to create and distribute tokens.

While Borget declined to “speculate on market rumors” regarding the future initiatives of The Sandbox and Animoca, the exec emphasized that the companies remain committed to empowering creators and the growth of their token economy as their core mission.

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“The Sandbox’s virtual assets, including the $SAND token, LANDs, NFT collections, and various assets within its ecosystem, remain unchanged,” he added.

SAND is down 70% since 2024

The restructuring of The Sandbox comes amid the , losing about 70% of its value since late 2024.

to CoinGecko data, SAND traded at $0.28 at publishing, down nearly 97% from the all-time high levels of $8.40 recorded in November 2021.

The SAND token was launched through a in August 2020. The crypto asset saw a massive rally ahead of in November 2021, with its market reaching $6.8 billion in capitalization at its peak.

At publishing time, the SAND’s market cap is at $687 million.

Additional reporting by Brayden Lindrea.

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