TechCrunch rounds up AI projects and startups that shut down or stumbled
What happened
On October 25, 2026, TechCrunch published a roundup of AI products and startups that shut down, pivoted or clearly fell short of expectations, including Relay, Character.ai and several OpenAI projects. The cases span shutdowns, bankruptcies and setbacks, though the report summary does not state each project's specific status. Citing S&P Global Market Intelligence, the report says about 42% of AI projects are ultimately abandoned by their companies, for reasons including insufficient funding, technical challenges, competition, scaling difficulties and weak demand. The report gives the cases and the overall figure but does not disclose what happened next to the listed projects.
Written by AI from the coverage · updated 1 hour ago
Coverage
Follow the reports to see the story from different sides.
- TechCrunch · AIThe AI graveyard: a running list of projects and startups that didn’t make it
TechCrunch 盘点了停运、转型或明显未达预期的 AI 产品与创业公司，包括 Relay、Character.ai 和 OpenAI 的多个项目。S&P Global Market Intelligence 的数据显示，约 42% 的 AI 项目最终被所属企业放弃，原因包括资金不足、技术挑战、竞争、扩展困难和需求疲弱。
Heat over time
Not enough continuous observations to draw a trend yet.