// startup autopsy
Logitech Revue (Google TV)
$299 for a box that made your TV harder to use. Logitech wrote down $100M and the CEO called it 'a mistake.'
marketfitSilent Shutdown
Quiet closure with no public announcement · Fatal mistake: Launched as hardware partner for an unvalidated platform hostile to major content providers
| Founded | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Closed | 2012 |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Sector | Hardware |
| Founder | Guerrino De Luca (Logitech CEO) |
// the model, blind
Evaluating only Logitech Revue (Google TV)’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Acquisition gone wrong as the #1 likely cause. Documented cause: No market fit.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
Logitech partners with Google to develop the Revue set-top box as the launch hardware partner for the Google TV platform.
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Logitech Revue launches at $299 with a full QWERTY keyboard remote, positioning Google TV as a way to merge web browsing and television viewing.
REGULATORY ACTION
Major broadcast networks CBS, NBC, and ABC block Google TV devices from accessing their streaming content, severely crippling the Revue's core value proposition.
PIVOT
Logitech slashes the Revue price from $299 to $99 after dismal holiday sales, with total units sold far below the internal target of over 2 million units.
CEO CHANGE
Logitech CEO Guerrino De Luca publicly acknowledges the Revue is 'a mistake' for the company, signaling a strategic retreat from the Google TV initiative.
DOWN ROUND
Logitech further discounts the Revue to $79 as cumulative sales stall at approximately 250,000 units, a fraction of the multi-million unit target.
LAYOFF
Logitech announces a $100 million write-down on the Revue product line, reflecting the full financial loss absorbed from unsold inventory and development costs.
SHUTDOWN
Silent Shutdown: Logitech Revue (Google TV) ceases operations after selling only ~250,000 units against a target of 2M+, marking the end of Logitech's Google TV hardware venture.