One of the longest running hyperloop startups has reportedly closed its doors. Hyperloop One, which was backed by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, will cease operations on December 31 According to Bloomberg News.
It’s the latest stumble in the tech industry’s attempt to bring to life an idea first floated by Elon Musk in a white paper in 2013. It comes after Hyperloop One has raised and spent hundreds of millions of dollars since its founding in 2014.
The original idea for a hyperloop sounds like a zero-interest-rate fever dream: building long, vacuum-sealed tubes to ship people and goods at super-fast speeds. Aside from a few technical demos and test tracks, the idea has yet to take off.
Hyperloop One itself has gone through multiple mutations, including An ugly legal battle Among its founders. It took the name Virgin Hyperloop One after Branson invested in 2017. But when Branson criticized Saudi Arabia after the killing of Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, the kingdom pulled a planned project with the startup, and the billionaire stepped down as chairman.
DP World, the operator of Dubai ports, ended up taking majority control of the startup and pivoted its focus to shipping in early 2022, cutting half the headcount at the time and dropping the Virgin title. DP World will end up with the intellectual property for Hyperloop One, Bloomberg reported, while the rest of its physical assets — including the test track outside Las Vegas and other machinery — will be sold.