Proptech darling Icon Technologies is slashing its workforce by one quarter.
The Austin-based company laid off 114 workers, the Austin Business Journal reported. The outlet’s last count of employees at the firm was 400, meaning the layoffs are cutting 25 percent of employees.
A spokesperson told the outlet that the decision was made to “realign” Icon’s team.
The spokesperson said “a more streamlined team” will focus on “key projects across residential, hospitality, social/affordable and those within the Department of Defense.”
The company, which was founded in 2017, debuted its work throughout the years on the SXSW stage to much fanfare with the thesis that its 3-D printing technology could solve the housing crisis.
Icon was valued at $2 billion in 2022. As of October 2023, Icon had raised $443 million and employed almost 500 people, according to PitchBook Data.
It counts among its investors organizations like NASA, which awarded Icon a $57 million contract to whip up construction technology that would work on the moon, using materials harvested there.
After years of hype, Icon teamed up with Lennar Homes to print a 100-home community outside of Austin. The developers called the project the first large-scale, 3-D printed residential development in the country.
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Icon also started construction on a project in Marfa to rebuild the famed El Cosmico hotel and campground. The firm is 3-D printing three- and four-bedroom homes that will span 2,000 to 2,500 square feet.
The company hasn’t said how the layoffs will impact its pipeline of projects.
–Jess Hardin
