InsideCRM has a list of what it says are the 20 worst VC investments of all time.
Here’s the list:
1. Amp’d Mobile: $360 million, ended in bankruptcy.
2. Procket: $272 million, sold for $89 million.
3. Webvan: Valued at $1.2 billion, went bankrupt in 2001. Ate through $800 million in venture capital, ended with $830 million in losses.
4. Caspian Networks: >$300 million in funding, closed doors.
5. Pets.com: $50 million by Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Bowman Capital, and Amazon.com Inc., did sock-puppet ads, then crashed.
6. Optiva: $41.5 million in venture capital, crashed.
7. Kozmo.com: $250 million in investment, liquidated.
8. CueCat: $185 million from investors like The Coca-Cola Co. and General Electric Co., bombed.
9. DeNovis Inc.: $125 million in venture capital, closed.
10. PointCast Inc.: Tens of millions of dollars in venture capital and a $400 million buy offer, PointCast was sold for $7 million.
11. eToys: Backed by VC firms Idealab, Highland Capital Partners LLC and Sequoia Capital Partners, ended in bankruptcy.
12. AllAdvantage: $135 million in venture capital down the drain.
13. FastForward: $54 million into the company, bankrupt.
14. Xoma: This 26-year old company has not earned a profit since its inception in 1981.
15. Flooz.com: $50 million, went broke.
16. Vanguarde Media Inc.: $60 million in VC funding, went under.
17. Pixelon.com: $16 million not remarkable, but burned through with remarkable style.
18. Bolt Media Inc.: >$60 million in venture backing, shut down.
19. DigiScents: $20 million in investment, shut down.
20. Boo.com: $120 million, went bust.
