(Bloomberg) — Hyperloop One is a futuristic transportation company that builds tube-wrapped routes to carry passengers and cargo from one city to another at aircraft-like speeds, according to people familiar with the matter. , but the company is about to close.
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Hyperloop One was once a high-profile startup that raised more than $450 million since its founding in 2014, according to PitchBook data. It built a small test track near Las Vegas to develop its transportation technology, once known as Virgin Hyperloop One. Richard Branson’s Virgin invested. Virgin canceled its brand last year after deciding to focus on cargo rather than people.
Now the company has laid off most of its employees and is trying to sell remaining assets, including test tracks and machinery, according to a person who asked not to be identified discussing private information. At the beginning of 2022, the company employed more than 200 employees. The company also closed its Los Angeles office. Remaining employees overseeing the asset sale have been informed that their employment will end on December 31.
Dubai-based conglomerate DP World has backed Hyperloop One since 2016 and has a majority stake. A person familiar with the matter said that the startup’s remaining intellectual property rights will be transferred to DP World.
In a compromise, DP World declined to comment. Hyperloop One acting CEO Raja Narayanan also did not respond to a request for comment.
Hyperloop One, formally known as Hyperloop Technologies, merged with a shell company in April, according to a document reviewed by Bloomberg. At that time, the value of most classes of stock was written down to zero cents, and shareholders of the shell company became the sole owners of Hyperloop One. At an all-hands meeting, employees were told that DP World had orchestrated the deal, according to one of the people.
The company has captured the public’s imagination since its founding in 2014, a year after Elon Musk released a white paper outlining his vision for Hyperloop technology. The concept is a tantalizing promise of a new kind of transportation technology and an end to traffic congestion.
But the nascent industry struggled, and Hyperloop One never won a contract to build the hyperloop. The company also attracted a lot of attention for the wrong reasons. Co-founder Brogan BamBrogan once came into work and noticed a noose on his chair. Co-founder and venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar resigned after Bloomberg reported sexual harassment allegations against him, which he denied. Former director Ziyavudin Magomedov was arrested in Moscow on charges of fraud and corruption unrelated to Hyperloop One. At the time, Magomedov’s lawyers said he was appealing the arrest.
Although no large-scale hyperloop has been built after years of effort, the concept continues to fascinate entrepreneurs. Several hyperloop companies are in various stages of building prototypes, including Hardt Hyperloop, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc. and Swisspod Technologies.
Musk has also pushed the field forward, launching a series of competitions for student-designed hyperloops and building a now-demolished test track. He also founded Boring Co., a tunneling company dedicated to developing related technologies.
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