Quibi
Even $1.75B in funding cannot create demand for a product nobody wants. Test assumptions before scaling.
2018 → 2020
$1.75B
Media/Entertainment
USA
IdeaProof AI Failure Score
What Happened: The Timeline
Aug 2018
Quibi founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg & Meg Whitman
Jan 2020
Raised $1.75B total before launch
Apr 6, 2020
Quibi launches — 300K downloads on day 1 (vs. 7.5M for Disney+)
May 2020
Retention crisis: 92% of trial users don't convert to paid
Sep 2020
Only 500K paying subscribers (target was 7.4M)
Oct 2020
Quibi announces shutdown, just 6 months after launch
Root Causes
Quibi launched in April 2020 with $1.75 billion in funding and shut down just 6 months later—one of the fastest billion-dollar failures ever. The platform offered "quick bites" of premium video content designed for mobile viewing. Despite legendary founders (Jeffrey Katzenberg, Meg Whitman) and Hollywood-quality content, users didn't materialize. The fundamental assumption—that people wanted premium short-form content on mobile—was never validated. YouTube and TikTok already served the short-form niche for free, while Netflix owned premium viewing. Quibi couldn't be shared on social media, had no TV casting, and launched during a pandemic when people had time for long-form content. The $1.75B burned proves that no amount of funding can create product-market fit.
Key Lessons Learned
2. Free alternatives kill premium content plays
YouTube and TikTok offered infinite free short-form content. Competing with free requires extraordinary differentiation.
3. Legendary founders ≠ guaranteed success
Jeffrey Katzenberg (DreamWorks) and Meg Whitman (HP, eBay) couldn't override a fundamentally flawed product concept.
Competitors That Won
TikTok
$300B+ valuation, 1.5B+ users
Why they won: User-generated content, algorithmic feed, social sharing, completely free
YouTube Shorts
2B+ monthly users, dominant short-form
Why they won: Built on existing massive platform, creator ecosystem, ad-supported free model
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & References
Could This Failure Have Been Prevented?
IdeaProof's AI validates market demand, competitive positioning, and business model viability in minutes — catching the exact issues that sank Quibi.