Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison’s medical institute set for mass layoffs in Los Angeles

A cancer research institute funded by billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison is preparing to lay off nearly 90 employees in Los Angeles.

The Ellison Medical Institute, led by founding CEO and oncologist David Agus, plans to permanently eliminate 88 positions in January, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filed with the state on Nov. 4.

The institute, which operates out of an 84,000-square-foot facility at 12414 Exposition Blvd., near the Expo/Bundy Metro station, has not disclosed the reason behind the layoffs.

The California Post reached out for comment, but did not immediately hear back.

The institute’s LinkedIn profile lists between 51 and 200 employees, although it is unclear how many people currently work at the Los Angeles facility.

The announcement comes as several major healthcare institutions across the region have reduced their workforces amid mounting financial pressures.

Kaiser Permanente is planning to eliminate 147 business and administrative positions across 16 California locations beginning Nov. 20, according to a state employment report filed Sept. 21. The cuts include 21 jobs in Los Angeles County and 72 in San Diego, where the largest number of employees will be affected.

Earlier this year, LA Care Health Plan laid off 225 workers, nearly 3% of its workforce, citing federal and state budget reductions. The organization is the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan, providing coverage to more than 2.6 million low-income Los Angeles County residents.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles also reduced its workforce by 5.8% last year, pointing to financial challenges that included lower Medi-Cal reimbursement rates. Keck Medicine of USC eliminated another 89 positions in October 2025 as part of efforts to address a university-wide operating deficit.

Unlike those institutions, the Ellison Medical Institute has not publicly identified financial difficulties as the reason for its upcoming cuts.

The research center traces its origins to 2016, when Ellison donated $200 million to the University of Southern California to establish an interdisciplinary institute focused on cancer prevention, research and treatment.

Initially known as the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine of USC, the organization was created to bring together specialists from different scientific and medical fields. It later separated from the university.

Today, the institute focuses on artificial intelligence, molecular analytics and the development of new approaches to diagnosing and treating diseases. Its operations include cancer and preventive medicine clinics, research laboratories and community education initiatives.

The institute has also expanded its work through partnerships with other organizations.

In June, it signed an exclusive licensing agreement with UniQuest, the commercialization company of Australia’s University of Queensland, to advance an experimental prostate cancer treatment.

The therapy could begin its first human clinical trials as early as 2027, according to a news release.

Last year, the institute also announced a partnership with Los Angeles-based Salt AI to explore the use of artificial intelligence in drug development.

Its educational initiatives include a three-week summer program for high school seniors, while Ellison and Agus have also established the Ellison Institute of Technology in Oxford, England.

Ellison has remained an outspoken advocate for the potential of artificial intelligence to transform medicine, particularly cancer treatment.

During his keynote address at Oracle AI World 2026, the billionaire predicted that AI advancements could make most cancers “gone in five years, and certainly in 10.”

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