The 25 Biggest Startup Failures in History
$255B+ in value destroyed
From dot-com disasters to crypto collapses to AI reckonings. Ranked by value destroyed, with full analysis of what went wrong.
25
Companies
$255B
Value Lost
10yr
Avg to Fail
8
Countries
The Rankings: Costliest to Least
Terra/Luna
Algorithmic stablecoins are inherently fragile. When confidence breaks, the death spiral is unstoppable.
$207M
2018–2022
WeWork
Valuation hype cannot mask fundamentally broken unit economics. Corporate governance failures amplify founder risk.
$11.5B
2010–2023
FTX
Due diligence on founder character is as important as business metrics. Lack of corporate governance enabled massive fraud.
$1.8B
2019–2022
Byju's
Aggressive acquisition-driven growth funded by debt is fragile. Transparency with investors is non-negotiable.
$5.5B
2011–2024
Juul Labs
A $38B e-cigarette company that hooked teenagers on nicotine faced total regulatory destruction.
$15B
2015–2024
Northvolt
Manufacturing battery cells at scale is extraordinarily hard. Even $13.8B couldn't bridge the gap between lab results and factory output.
$13.8B
2016–2024
Three Arrows Capital
Concentrated, leveraged bets in volatile markets with borrowed funds create cascading systemic risk.
$0 (hedge fund)
2012–2022
Rivian (Value Destruction)
Rivian IPO'd at $150B — briefly worth more than Ford and GM. The stock fell 90% as production couldn't match hype.
$10B+
2009–2024
Theranos
Technology claims must be independently verified. Board composition matters—Theranos had zero biotech experts.
$700M
2003–2018
Celsius Network
Crypto yield platforms offering 17% APY are unsustainable. When yields come from new deposits, it's a Ponzi scheme.
$750M
2017–2022
Convoy
Marketplace businesses in cyclical industries must have fortress balance sheets to survive downturns.
$900M
2015–2023
Argo AI
$3.6B from Ford and VW wasn't enough to make autonomous driving commercially viable. Full self-driving remains elusive.
$3.6B
2016–2022
Zillow Offers (iBuying)
Zillow's algorithm overpaid for 65% of homes it bought. Lost $881M in Q3 2021 and shut down iBuying entirely.
$0 (Zillow division)
2018–2021
GoPuff
$3.4B in funding for instant convenience delivery still hasn't produced profitability. Another quick commerce cautionary tale.
$3.4B
2013–2025
OneWeb
Building a satellite internet constellation requires $10B+. OneWeb raised $3.4B but wasn't enough to compete with SpaceX.
$3.4B
2012–2020
OYO Rooms
SoftBank poured $2B+ into a budget hotel chain that expanded to 80 countries before ensuring quality in one.
$3.2B
2013–2024
Genesis Global
Crypto prime brokerage with $3B in outstanding loans collapses when multiple borrowers default in sequence.
$0 (DCG subsidiary)
2013–2023
Bird
Hardware-as-a-service in public spaces faces vandalism, regulation, and unit economics challenges that are nearly impossible to solve.
$776M
2017–2023
Vice Media
Vice was valued at $5.7B as the "millennial CNN" but digital media advertising couldn't support the valuation.
$2.5B
1994–2023
Nuro (Autonomous Delivery)
Autonomous delivery robots raised $2.1B but commercial deployment remained limited to tiny pilot areas.
$2.1B
2016–2025
Katerra
Vertical integration in construction is extraordinarily complex. SoftBank's massive checks enabled unsustainable growth.
$2B
2015–2021
Opendoor
iBuying houses with algorithms works in rising markets but creates massive losses when prices drop even 5%.
$1.9B
2014–2024
Getir
$1.8B and a $12B valuation couldn't make ultra-fast grocery delivery work. The entire quick commerce model was flawed.
$1.8B
2015–2024
Quibi
Even $1.75B in funding cannot create demand for a product nobody wants. Test assumptions before scaling.
$1.75B
2018–2020
Wish (ContextLogic)
Cheap products from China with 3-week shipping create a race to the bottom that destroys brand trust.
$1.7B
2010–2024
What the Biggest Failures Have in Common
Massive Overfunding
The average company on this list raised $10B. Excessive capital masked fundamental problems, delayed tough decisions, and created a false sense of product-market fit. SoftBank alone appears in 5+ entries.
Governance Failures
Weak boards, no independent oversight, charismatic founders with unchecked power. FTX had no board. WeWork's board let Neumann cash out $700M. Theranos stacked their board with politicians, not scientists.
Growth Over Profitability
Every company prioritized top-line growth over sustainable unit economics. "Blitzscaling" culture rewarded burning cash for market share — until the music stopped and investors demanded profitability.
Founder Mythology
Charismatic storytellers who sold a vision so compelling that investors, employees, and media suspended critical thinking. SBF, Elizabeth Holmes, Adam Neumann — the bigger the narrative, the harder the fall.
Failures by Industry
📊 Shareable Stats
$255B+
Total value destroyed by top 25
10
Average years from founding to failure
17
Of top 25 were US-based
90%
Overall startup failure rate
Failures by Decade
1
2010s
24
2020s
Learn from $255B in Mistakes
Every failure on this list had warning signs. IdeaProof's AI catches the same patterns — market fit gaps, burn rate risks, competitive threats — before you invest.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the biggest startup failure of all time?
By valuation destroyed, the biggest startup failures include Terra/Luna ($60B+ wiped out), WeWork ($47B peak to bankruptcy), FTX ($32B to zero), and Byju's ($22B to near-zero). By total funding raised and lost, WeWork ($11.5B) and Byju's ($5.5B) top the list.
How much money has been lost in startup failures?
Our analysis of the 25 biggest startup failures alone accounts for over $255B in destroyed value. Globally, startup failures destroy an estimated $1 trillion+ in VC funding every decade.
What do the biggest startup failures have in common?
The biggest failures share several patterns: (1) massive overfunding that masked problems, (2) governance failures — weak boards, no financial oversight, (3) charismatic founders who prioritized storytelling over unit economics, and (4) markets that rewarded growth over profitability.
Are startup failures increasing in 2025-2026?
Yes. SimpleClosure data shows startup shutdowns increased 25.6% in 2024, with 966 US startups closing. Later-stage failures are rising as companies that raised during the 2021 bubble run out of runway. The first major AI startup reckoning began in 2025.