One of the longest-running hyperloop startups is reportedly closing its doors. Hyperloop One, once backed by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, will cease operations on December 31st. According to Bloomberg News.
It’s the latest stumble in the tech industry’s attempt to realize an idea that Elon Musk first laid out in a white paper in 2013. And it comes after Hyperloop One has raised and spent hundreds of millions of dollars since its founding in 2014.
Hyperloop’s original pitch sounds like a zero-interest-rate fever dream: building long vacuum-sealed tubes to transport people and goods at lightning speeds. But aside from a few tech demos and test tracks, the idea has yet to come to fruition.
Hyperloop One itself has undergone multiple mutations, including: ugly legal battle Among the co-founders. After Branson invested in 2017, the company was renamed Virgin Hyperloop One. But after Mr. Branson criticized Saudi Arabia after Jamal Khashoggi’s murder in 2018, the kingdom canceled planned projects with the company and the billionaire resigned as chairman.
Dubai port operator DP World took majority control of the startup and shifted its focus to cargo operations in early 2022, cutting half of its staff at the time and dropping its Virgin title. According to a report from Bloomberg, DP World will sell its Hyperloop One intellectual property, while its remaining hard assets, including a test track outside Las Vegas and other machinery, will be sold.
Source: techcrunch.com
