"Twitter paid $86M for live video in 2015 — then deleted 6 years of broadcasts to save server costs"
$87M
RAISED
—
EMPLOYEES
84
MONTHS
acquisition gone wrongSlow Death
Years-long decline before final shutdown
// Fatal mistake: No Strategic Commitment Post-Acquisition
Key Events Timeline
2014-01
FOUNDING
Periscope founded
2015-03
ACQUISITION ATTEMPT
Twitter acquires Periscope for ~$86.6M in March 2015, before the app has even launched publicly. Founders Kayvon Beykpour and Joe Bernstein join Twitter. Twitter beats Meerkat (already launched) to secure the leading live video streaming app. Periscope launches publicly March 26, 2015 to massive press coverage. 10M accounts created in the first 4 months.
2016-07
PRODUCT LAUNCH
Periscope's defining cultural moment: the July 2016 Turkish coup attempt. As tanks rolled in Istanbul, Turkish and international journalists broadcast live on Periscope. President Erdogan FaceTimed CNN and Turkish networks; citizens used Periscope to document the military movements. 3M+ simultaneous viewers. Periscope is briefly the most important live news platform in the world.
2017-06
PIVOT
Strategic pivot under pressure
2021-03
SHUTDOWN
Twitter announces December 14, 2020: Periscope will shut down March 1, 2021. Reason given: Periscope is 'barely used' and costs too much to maintain. 6 years of archived broadcasts — millions of hours of live video — deleted permanently. Kayvon Beykpour leaves Twitter in May 2022 as Elon Musk acquisition approaches. The Turkish coup, Black Lives Matter protests, hundreds of thousands of personal broadcasts: gone.
2021-06
SHUTDOWN
Silent Shutdown: Periscope ceases operations
🔥 Hall of Flame 55%🏆 Hall of Fame 50%
Periscope was founded in 2014 in New York by Kayvon Beykpour and Joe Bernstein.
// full analysis
Full analysis requires the Analyst plan
Documented cause · Market cycle · Competitive moat type · Verified lesson
UnicornBurn Season 0 opens July 2026. 10,000 founders competing in one world. Your startup fights for the market every Saturday. Most will end up here. Which one are you?