Bolt lays off a third of its employees, citing AI

• Key insight: The payments fintech Bolt laid off about 30% of its staff last week, the latest in a series of workforce cuts over the past several years.
• What's at stake: Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow cited AI as the "driving force" behind the layoff decision, like Jack Dorsey did for Block's 40% reduction in staff earlier this year.
• Supporting data: Bolt initially laid off about 30% of its employees in May 2022, then 10% of its workforce in Jan. 2023 and another 30% in Dec. 2023.

Bolt Financial, a one-click checkout provider, has laid off a third of its remaining employees.

The fintech, founded to provide payments software for e-commerce merchants, confirmed with American Banker that it laid off approximately 30% of its current workforce last week. The company did not disclose the exact number of employees affected, but stated that it was "less than 40 people."

"Going forward, Bolt will be operating as a much leaner organization and leveraging AI at our core," Ryan Breslow, Bolt's founder and recently-returned CEO, told employees in an internal message verified by American Banker. "Developing products and operating in 2026 is very different than it was in prior years, and we need to adapt as an organization to be leaner and more AI-centric than ever to keep [up] with competition."

In response to a request for comment, a Bolt representative told American Banker that the decision was made from "a place of strength" and that AI was the primary driving force behind the workforce reduction.

The layoffs were first reported by Jason Mikula of Fintech Business Weekly.

Recent findings in American Banker's 2026 AI Talent Shift Survey indicate that AI-driven layoffs do occur, but are not a significant share of the overall impact of AI on financial services. Only 3% of survey respondents, which included banks, credit unions, neobanks and payments processors, reported that workforce reductions were part of AI's overall impact at their offices.

This round of layoffs is the most recent of several for the fintech since 2022. Bolt initially laid off about 30% of its employees in May 2022, though the company did not confirm exactly how many people were impacted at the time. The fintech also let go of 10% of its workforce in Jan. 2023 and another 30% of its remaining employees in Dec. 2023.

Bolt launched an all-in-one financial services app in April of last year that combines crypto and everyday payments into a centralized platform. Breslow told American Banker at the time that the company's goal for years was to build a "super app" for financial services in the U.S. 

Bolt's most recent funding round closed in Jan. 2022 after raising $355 million from investors such as BlackRock and Schonfeld. The Series E round brought Bolt's total funding to nearly $1 billion. 

The company reportedly attempted to raise another $450 million in 2024 in connection with Breslow's return as CEO, but the funding round ultimately stalled due to legal challenges. 

Bolt declined to comment on whether the company is currently raising any funding.

Breslow told American Banker that he came "back home" to his position as CEO in early 2025. He originally stepped down as CEO in early 2022 after leading Bolt for eight years and making Forbes's 30 Under 30 list in 2019.

Bolt is the latest fintech company to cite AI as a driving factor in recent workforce cuts. Block has also laid off a large percentage of its workforce over the past three years, most recently with a round of layoffs that impacted 40% of its staff. Block CEO Jack Dorsey also cited AI as a factor in the decision.

Some experts have predicted a trend in AI-driven layoffs, in line with Block's and Bolt's announcements. Others, like Cornerstone Advisors senior director Tony DeSanctis, are less certain. He believes that Block's reductions in staff were as much about a Covid-driven overhiring over the last few years as it was about AI.

"My guess is that Bolt is in a similar situation, especially given the challenges in the crypto market," he told American Banker. "My guess is this is more about a rightsizing of staff than a massive benefit they are deriving from AI. I find it highly unlikely they were able to eliminate 30% of the workforce simply from AI efficiencies."