Messari announced that CEO Eric Turner has stepped down as the company pivots to an AI-first strategy and implements a round of layoffs. Turner said on X that he handed leadership to Diran Li, Messari’s chief technology officer for more than seven years, called the change the right move for the company’s next phase, and offered his full support. Turner became interim CEO in July 2024 after founder Ryan Selkis resigned and described the staffing cuts as a difficult day, thanking departing employees for their contributions.
Messari did not disclose the number of people affected. The company previously reduced headcount by about 15 percent in January 2025 and carried out a comparable reduction in February 2023.
In his announcement, Diran Li confirmed the workforce reductions and said Messari is doubling down on becoming an AI-first company that serves institutions through research and AI products. Founded in 2018 as a crypto research and data provider, Messari began integrating AI into its offerings in 2024 and is accelerating that pivot.
Last week Li said Messari is opening its data layer to autonomous agents by adopting the x402 protocol. That change will let developers and AI agents autonomously source and pay for on-chain data using crypto wallets, aiming to make institutional-grade crypto intelligence accessible to builders and autonomous systems across the internet.
Messari’s move reflects a broader trend of crypto-native firms expanding into AI-related services and infrastructure, following peers such as Core Scientific, Cipher Mining, MARA Holdings, Hut 8, and Galaxy Digital. The leadership change and cuts appear intended to align resources with the company’s new AI-focused roadmap.