Failed 2001
Webvan
Building massive warehouses before proving unit economics is a recipe for disaster.
Founded → Closed
1996 → 2001
Funding Raised
$800M
Industry
E-commerce/Grocery
Country
USA
IdeaProof AI Failure Score
78/100
Market Fit Risk
55
Burn Rate Risk
95
Founder Risk
30
Full Analysis
Webvan was the most ambitious—and most expensive—failure of the dot-com era. The online grocery delivery service raised $800M and built enormous automated warehouses costing $35M each before proving customer demand in any single market. At its peak, Webvan operated in 10 cities with 4,500 employees. But orders were too sparse to justify the massive infrastructure investment. The company burned through $830M in just 3 years.
Could This Failure Have Been Prevented?
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