Last Words
“You can’t watch Netflix in line at Starbucks.”
Raised
$1.75 billion — burned faster than its 10-minute episodes
Cause of Death
Built for short attention spans… but no one paid attention.
Notable twist
Spent nearly $2B. Launched in a pandemic. Shut down in 6 months.
Details
Quibi was a mobile-only streaming platform promising Hollywood-level content in under 10 minutes. Founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg and run by ex-HP CEO Meg Whitman, it raised nearly $2B pre-launch. But timing and format killed it. Quibi launched in April 2020 — just as the world stopped commuting. Its premise (watching short videos on the go) became irrelevant overnight. Worse, users couldn’t screenshot, share, or cast content. Despite big stars and big money, Quibi failed to connect — and six months later, it was dead.
Pitch: “Quick bites. Big stories.”
