CEO says company is building a “unified, AI-driven organization” to scale and grow profitably.
Fintech unicorn Rapyd is undergoing a major restructuring and laying off employees as it repositions itself around artificial intelligence, CEO Arik Shtilman told staff in a company-wide letter sent today.
“Today we are restructuring Rapyd to align with a fundamental shift in our business model: Rapyd is now a company operated by AI,” Shtilman wrote. “This is not a future goal; it is our current reality. By embedding AI as the centralized system that runs our global operations, we have fundamentally changed how work gets done.”
According to the letter, the shift is intended to make the company faster and more efficient while redirecting resources toward AI-driven development.
“This evolution allows us to operate faster, improve accuracy, and deliver better outcomes for our customers while growing rapidly and profitably,” he added.
Shtilman said Rapyd remains in a strong financial position despite the cuts.
“Rapyd is in a strong position. The company is growing and profitable,” he wrote. “We are making a deliberate choice to reallocate our resources into our platform capabilities and AI investments that will drive our next phase of growth.”
Employees affected by the restructuring will be notified immediately, the company said.
“Impacted employees are being notified today. These decisions are not a reflection of their talent or contributions, and we are committed to supporting them through this transition with respect,” Shtilman wrote.
While the scale of the layoffs was not formally disclosed, company sources said a full department employing dozens, and potentially over a hundred workers, is being shut down, marking a significant reduction in headcount.
Shtilman acknowledged the internal uncertainty created by the move but emphasized a clear strategic direction going forward.
“For those remaining, I recognize this creates uncertainty. Our direction, however, is clear. We are building the most efficient engine in fintech – a unified, AI-driven organization equipped to scale and win,” he wrote.
Rapyd will hold a company-wide town hall on June 2 to discuss the changes and next steps.
The Israeli fintech company was founded in 2015 by Arik Shtilman, Arkady Karpman, and Omer Priel. The company develops an international payments platform for businesses and consumers, enabling bank transfers, transfers to digital wallets and banks, and cash payments.
In 2022, amid the boom in the technology sector, Rapyd became Israel’s most valuable privately held tech company following a secondary transaction that valued the company at approximately $15 billion.
Last year, Rapyd completed the acquisition of European fintech company PayU from Dutch investment firm Prosus for approximately $610 million. To finalize the deal, Rapyd raised $500 million, most of it in equity and a small portion in debt. The company’s valuation in that funding round was approximately $4.5 billion.
Rapyd in response: “Rapyd is transitioning to a new model based on an artificial intelligence (AI) architecture that already powers the company’s global operations. The shift to an AI-based infrastructure has led to significant improvements in business performance, and the company is now experiencing rapid, profitable growth, along with greater accuracy and better outcomes for its clients worldwide.
“Accordingly, the company has made adjustments to its organizational structure as part of preparations for this new operating reality. For Rapyd, this represents a natural evolution of its operations and of the broader fintech industry, illustrating how a fintech platform that places AI at the core of its operations can grow faster, operate more efficiently and accurately, and rely on a more focused and professional team. This enables the company to move at a speed and scale that were not possible in the past.”
