Hyperloop One, the futuristic transportation company building tube-connected lines to zip passengers and freight from city to city, is shutting down, according to people familiar with the situation.
Once a high-profile startup, Hyperloop One has raised more than $450 million since its founding in 2014, according to PitchBook. He built a small test track near Las Vegas for a time to develop his transportation technology. Name taken Virgin Hyperloop One after Richard Branson’s Virgin investment. Virgin ditched its branding after the startup decided to focus on cargo rather than people last year.
Now, the company has laid off most of its employees, and is looking to sell its remaining assets, including test tracks and machinery, according to one of the people, who spoke on private information. Asked to remain anonymous. As of early 2022, the company employed more than 200 people. The business has also closed its Los Angeles office. The rest of the workers, who were tasked with overseeing the asset sale, were told their jobs would end on December 31.
DP World, a Dubai-based conglomerate, has backed Hyperloop One since 2016 and has a majority stake. The startup’s remaining intellectual property will be transferred to DP World, a person familiar with the situation said.
Through a spokesperson, DP World declined to comment. Raja Narayanan, Hyperloop One’s acting chief executive officer, also did not respond to requests for comment.
Hyperloop One, formally known as Hyperloop Technologies, merged with a shell company this April, according to a document reviewed by Bloomberg. At the time, shares in most classes were written down to zero cents, and Shell Company shareholders only became owners of Hyperloop One. In an all-hands meeting, employees were told that DP World had arranged the transaction, according to one of the people.
The company has captured the public imagination since its founding in 2014, a year after Elon Musk outlined his vision for Hyperloop technology. The concept was a new type of transportation technology — and the end of traffic.
But the newborn The industry stumbled, and Hyperloop One never won the contract to build a working Hyperloop. The company also attracted a lot of attention for the wrong reasons. Co-founder Brogenbaum Brogen arrived at work once Look for the noose on his chair.. And another co-founder, venture capitalist Sharon Pashivar, has since stepped aside. Bloomberg reported. on allegations of sexual harassment against her, which she denied. The one-time director, Ziauddin Magomedov, was arrested Unrelated to Hyperloop One charged with fraud and embezzlement in Moscow. At the time, Magomedov’s lawyer said he was appealing the arrest.
Although no large-scale hyperloop has been built after years of effort, the concept fascinates entrepreneurs. Several Hyperloop companies are in various stages of building prototypes, including Hardt HyperloopHyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc. and Swiss Spade Technologies.
Musk has also promoted the field, creating a series of competitions for student-designed hyperloops and The now demolished test track. He also started the Boring Company, a tunneling business that adopted related technology.
Credit : fortune.com
