Wearables maker Jawbone's liquidation also makes it the highest-funded failure by any consumer electronics startup in history.
Jawbone‘s demise last week closed the book on the wearables company, which saw at least 16 separate financing rounds over the company’s 17 years in existence. The company raked in $929.9M in disclosed funding, making it one of the most well-funded companies ever to fold.
Jawbone ranks as the second costliest startup death or asset sale ever by a VC-funded company globally since at least 2009, as well as the most expensive failure by any consumer electronics startup, according to CB Insights data.
the top 12 reasons startups fail
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Since 2009, the only failed VC-backed startup in any industry to have burned through more cash than Jawbone was Solyndra – the solar technology startup that became famous for raising $1.22B (including $535M from the federal government) before closing shop in 2011.
Solyndra’s disclosed valuation peaked at $791M in 2009, while Jawbone’s highest-ever valuation was $3.2B in 2014. Jawbone’s last valuation prior to its shuttering was $1.2B, following back-to-back downrounds in Q2’15 and Q1’16. (Click here for a closer look at Jawbone’s valuation history.)
Jawbone is also the only consumer electronics company among the top ten costliest VC-backed startup failures. Four of the five most expensive flameouts come from the solar technology industry: Abound Solar secured $614.4M in funding (including $400M from the federal government) before shuttering in Q3’12; MiaSole raised $526.4M before an asset sale in Q3’12; and Nanosolar closed $491.5M in funding before dying in Q3’13.
Rounding out the top ten are startups from a variety of industries: Online lender Privlo ($358.6M raised) died in Q4’15; media startup Mode Media ($229.2M) died in Q3’16; biopharmaceutical company Biolex Therapeutics ($208.1M) died in Q3’12; and energy startups Aquion Energy ($196.6M) and Range Fuels ($189.5M) died in Q1’17 and Q4’11, respectively.
All ten of the costliest VC-backed failures were US-based companies. See the full list below.
| Rank | Company | Closure | Fail Date | Total Amount Raised | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Solyndra | Dead | 2/2/2016 | $1.22B | Solar |
| 2 | Jawbone | Dead | 10/21/2014 | $929.9M | Consumer Electronics |
| 3 | Abound Solar | Dead | 5/11/2017 | $614.4M | Solar |
| 4 | MiaSole | Asset Sale | 5/23/2017 | $526.4M | Solar |
| 5 | Nanosolar | Dead | 7/13/2016 | $491.5M | Solar |
| 6 | Privlo | Dead | 1/28/2016 | $358.6M | Online Lending |
| 7 | Mode Media | Dead | 7/1/2016 | $229.2M | Media |
| 8 | Biolex Therapeutics | Dead | 12/13/2013 | $208.1M | Biopharmaceutical |
| 9 | Aquion Energy | Dead | 9/21/2015 | $196.6M | Energy |
| 10 | Range Fuels | Dead | 2/15/2017 | $189.5M | Energy |
For more on why well-funded startups fail, check out post-mortems of 111 of the costliest deaths of all time.
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