Evaluating only Skybox Imaging’s profile at its peak — without knowing the outcome — the model ranked Acquisition gone wrong as the #1 likely cause. That’s exactly how it died.
Key Events Timeline
FOUNDING
ACQUISITION ATTEMPT
ACQUISITION ATTEMPT
SHUTDOWN
Full Analysis
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Documented cause
Skybox Imaging built high-resolution small satellite imaging technology at Stanford. Google acquired it for $500M in 2014 to power Google Maps and Earth with real-time imagery. Google failed to integrate Skybox into its mapping stack and sold it to Planet Labs for just $25M in 2016 — a 95% write-down. Planet absorbed the satellite assets but retired the Skybox brand.
Lesson
“Large tech acquirers frequently overpay for satellite businesses without a clear integration plan — the math rarely works out.”
Failure anatomy
Collapse type
Acqui-hire
📉 MEDIUM
Hype cycle
Emerging Tech
Moat type
Technology
Fatal mistake
Acquisition Failure
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