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- From aging dinosaurs to failed startups, these are 13 of the biggest tech companies that went under in the 2010s
From aging dinosaurs to failed startups, these are 13 of the biggest tech companies that went under in the 2010s
2010: Blockbuster
2011: Solyndra
Founded: 2005
Peak revenue: $140 million in 2010
Went out of business: 2011
The solar power startup was the first to receive a clean energy loan guarantee from the federal government in 2005. It shuttered in 2011, just five months after a visit from President Barack Obama.
2011: Palm
Founded: 1992
Peak valuation: $53.3 billion in 2000
Went out of business: 2011
One of the largest beneficiaries of the dot com bubble of 2000, Palm was once valued higher than McDonalds, Chevron, and General Motors.
2013: Compaq
2013: AltaVista
2016: Friends Reunited
Founded: 2000
Peak valuation: $297 million in 2005
Shut down: 2016
Founded six years before Facebook, Friends Reunited was an early social media platform that was primarily popular in the UK before fading out of relevance.
2016: Pebble
Founded: 2012
Peak valuation: $740 million in 2015
Went out of business: 2016
This early smartwatch began by raising $10.3 million on Kickstarter, making it the most successful Kickstarter campaign ever at the time. Its owner turned down offers to sell the company for $740 million in 2015, but struggled to compete with competitors like the Apple Watch and ultimately sold out to FitBit for less than $40 million in 2016.
2017: Vertu
2017: Jawbone
Founded: 1999
Peak valuation: $3.2 billion in 2014
Shut down and liquidated: 2017
The consumer electronics unicorn once seemed like a sure bet, but shut down in 2017 after being sued by vendors who claimed they were owed money.
2018: Theranos
Founded: 2003
Peak valuation: $10 billion in 2014
Went defunct: 2018
Theranos crumbled under the weight of the high expectations it set for itself when scientists and journalists poked holes in the company's promises to run blood tests on a single drop of blood. Here's everything that happened leading up to Theranos's downfall.
2018: Path
Founded: 2010
Peak valuation: $500 million in 2013
Discontinued: 2018
The social network was once a challenger to Facebook, but was rapidly shedding users in the years leading up to its demise.
2018: StumbleUpon
Founded: 2001
Peak valuation: $75 million in 2007
Shut down: 2018
The once-popular web browsing tool was acquired by eBay in 2007, spun back out two years later, and finally acquired by Mix, which shut it down in 2018. It wasn't the end of the road for StumbleUpon cofounder Garrett Camp however — he founded Uber in 2009.
2018: Alta Motors
Founded: 2007
Amount raised: $45 million by 2018
Shut down: 2018
The electric motorcycle maker raised money from investors including Tesla co-founders Marc Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard, but was unable to maintain its momentum.
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