How businesses began, found their footing and faced what came next.
The full archive, in the appLondon legal tech fine-tuned Anthropic's Claude for contracts, raised ~$64M, then a failed 2025 raise split it: Scissero took services, Microsoft took the team.
Read the caseThree founders turned Orthrus — a 10M-parameter RNA model that outperforms 40B-parameter Evo2 on mRNA benchmarks — into a YC-backed RNA therapeutics toolkit.
Read the caseGroup14's SCC55 silicon anode began shipping from its Sangju factory in September 2024; $463M Series D in 2025 pushed total equity past $1B.
Read the caseRocket Internet's 2012 bet on an 'Amazon of Africa' reached a $1B valuation and NYSE IPO, crashed 90%, and now targets 2027 profit.
Read the caseCaaStle raised $530M+ to sell fashion rental-as-a-service, then filed Chapter 7 in June 2025 after its founder admitted a $300M fraud.
Read the caseUnacademy's AI-native language app went global with 10M learners in 150 countries; became top-3 downloaded language app worldwide.
Read the caseBerlin insurtech raises $1B+ and peaks at $4.5B, then a 2024 cash crunch forces exits, a new CEO and a €151M rescue.
Read the caseArcher Aviation built the Midnight eVTOL on United's $1B order, betting FAA's 2024 powered-lift rule opens air taxis; first to clear certification Phase 3.
Read the caseSeattle's Picnic bet stadiums and chains would lease robotic pizza assemblers; after $53M and a Domino's pilot it never profited, then liquidated in May 2026.
Read the caseYC W25 startup automates referral intake for specialist clinics — parsing faxes, verifying insurance and scheduling so patients stop falling through the cracks.
Read the caseTwo Ford engineers pivoted from hybrid bikes to fleet software, digitized Indonesia's trucking fleets, and hit EBITDA-positive ground before a $9M Series B.
Read the caseDuc-Tam Nguyen's Go CLI renders pages in headless Chrome, strips all JavaScript, then packs the site as a ZIM file or single binary; Show HN: 712 points.
Read the caseTsinghua spinout Zhipu (Z.ai) bet original GLM architecture, open weights and phone-controlling agents could make China's OpenAI; HK IPO Jan 2026, stock up 13x.
Read the caseKeio-spun Spiber raised $640M+ to ferment spider-silk-style fibers, sold a North Face Moon Parka, then defaulted on ¥35B and entered special liquidation.
Read the caseWatershed bet EU CSRD and California's SB 253 would make carbon reporting audit-grade compliance; it became climate software's most valuable company at $1.8B.
Read the caseSwiggy's budget counter to Rapido: toing — meals under ₹250 with no packaging fees — passed 1M downloads and hit #25 on India's iPhone charts.
Read the caseThree part-time devs spent ¥1,500 betting solo dwellers would pay for a blunt safety check-in app; it went viral in Jan 2026, then forced a rename.
Read the caseTwo immigrant founders grew BoldVoice from Reddit accent communities to $10M ARR, 5M+ downloads and a Matrix-led $21M Series A.
Read the caseNigeria's open-banking pioneer wound down in May 2025 after six years, refunding investors and sending its co-founder to UK startup Kernel
Read the caseFounded 2021, raised ¥15.27B in 2025, valuation ¥60B, E2E route unproven.
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