The pressure on website builders
Generative AI has made it possible to create working front-end designs with short prompts, reducing the effort involved in building a website. That shift is drawing investment and new products across the category:
Squarespace has been building in the same direction. It released its Blueprint AI tool in 2024 and recently announced Forma, a forthcoming platform built with AI at its core. Users can sign up for its waitlist.
A private company under pressure to find its next shape
Squarespace was founded in 2004 and went public in 2021 at a $10 billion valuation. It struggled to sustain investor interest as a public company and returned to private ownership in 2024 through a $7 billion deal with a private equity fund.
The company has not said how the job cuts relate to its AI plans, or whether Forma is expected to change the work its teams do. I think the more revealing question is whether Squarespace can turn AI into a reason for customers to choose it, rather than simply a feature it needs to offer because rivals are moving. A new platform and a smaller workforce are both signs of a reset; the announcement does not yet show what the reset is meant to produce.
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