Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images for TechCrunch

According to a report from TechCrunch, Omni Rentals, a San Francisco-based physical storage and rentals startup whose rentals business is said to be not going so well, is in talks to sell its engineering team to Coinbase after also garnering interest from Thumbtack. Such deals are known as acqui-hires, where companies pay a particular amount to absorb the employees of another startup.  Acqui-hires many times involve struggling or shuttering startups that are seeking ways to keep its employees employed by offering them to another business. They’re also a way for companies to recruit key talent from other firms in fields of interest.

According to TechCrunch, Omni is in talks with Coinbase to gobble up some of its engineering staff, who would work on Coinbase Earn, a service that rewards users with crypto for completing online educational programs. Earn was a standalone startup led by former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan before it got acquired last year for a reported $100 million [Srinivasan joined Coinbase after the acquisition but left after just a year on the job]. TechCrunch reports some Omni engineers are already interviewing at Coinbase. However, in a statement to TechCrunch, a Coinbase spokesperson said there was currently no official deal inked between the two.

Omni started in on-demand storage, a service [like the name suggests] that lets customers store their stuff in a warehouse and request it at any time for a fee. The service grew quite popular in San Francisco and began to grow to other cities. But by May, Omni sold the storage business to Clutter, another on-demand storage startup, which raised a $200 million Softbank-led round earlier this year. The sale drew complaints from users about changing prices and lost items, with some concerned that another startup suddenly was in possession of their belongings. Going forward with its rental business, Omni said it would rely on local shops for pickup and drop-offs instead of storing the goods to be rented in their own warehouses. However, many users didn’t welcome the idea. This, coupled with several other hassles has led to struggles in Omni’s business. TechCrunch reports Omni even discussed telling rental partners that it would shutter its rental service [although it didn’t confirm that]. Shuttering its rental service (its only remaining business) will basically mean shutting down Omni, unless it comes up with another service, which TechCrunch reports it considered .

In summary, Omni may be looking to shut down amid struggles and is said to be offering its engineering team for an acqui-hire to Crunchbase.