Shaw Walters, the founder of Eliza Labs, has declared the ELIZAOS token dead and advised holders to sell. Walters also announced that the ELIZAOS foundation is closing, stating there will be no further foundation support, buybacks, or supply measures.
The decision to wind down the foundation follows a settlement involving the project's remaining treasury and available funds. These funds were used to settle with a group of holders represented by Burwick Law.
The settlement addresses a proposed class action filed by Burwick Law in the Southern District of New York in April. The complaint alleged false advertising, deceptive practices, negligent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment.
The lawsuit claimed the project marketed itself as an 'autonomous, AI-run venture fund' despite Walters and other insiders maintaining control. It also alleged that the project improperly used the branding of the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz and that holders were diluted during a migration that expanded the token supply from 1.1 billion to 11 billion.
Their claim was ridiculous, but we didn't have the capital to legally fight it.
From AI16Z to ELIZAOS
The project originally launched on Solana in October 2024 as AI16Z, pitching an AI agent that would make investment decisions for a venture-style fund. The name was later changed to ELIZAOS after the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) objected to the use of the AI16Z name.
The ELIZAOS token market cap has dropped from its peak value.
At its peak on January 2, 2025, the AI16Z token reached a market capitalization of approximately $2.39 billion with a daily volume of $291 million. Currently, the ELIZAOS token trades near $0.00031 with a market cap of about $2.3 million. The original AI16Z contract remains listed on CoinGecko separately, with a market cap of roughly $375,000.
Walters noted that he once held tokens worth approximately $25 million in his wallet before the value fell toward zero. He denied personally profiting from the project, stating he earned only a modest salary comparable to the company's other engineers.
Despite the collapse of the token, Walters intends to continue building ElizaOS software without launching another token. He stated his intent to restart as the owner of the IP, noting he would not allow another token to be associated with Eliza.
Gonna keep building no matter what, every single day...
