Hyperloop One

How it happened

Hyperloop One (later Virgin Hyperloop) aimed to build ultra-fast tube-based transport, reaching a ~$1.5B valuation around 2017 backed by major investors. Despite a 2020 passenger test, it failed to secure a commercially viable route, pivoted to cargo, and shed staff. Glassdoor reviews chart the unraveling from inside: three CEOs in roughly a year, vendor credit accounts in default so engineers' parts orders bounced, a head of engineering fired weeks after his concept was approved, and a final head-scratching rebrand toward software. By mid-2023 a survivor counted about 20 remaining engineers sharing the office with the CEO's dogs; it shut down at the end of 2023, wiping out essentially all value.

Employee accounts paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗. See our methodology.