Skillz provided a platform allowing mobile game developers to add real-money skill-based tournaments to their games — competing for cash prizes based on in-game performance rather than luck.

Why did Skillz stock fall 98%?

The combination of regulatory compliance costs limiting the accessible market, unsustainable customer acquisition costs, and a collapsing SPAC/growth stock multiple environment caused the stock to fall from ~$46 to below $0.70.

// startup autopsy

Skillz

The mobile esports SPAC unicorn — discovered that real-money gaming has regulatory and CAC problems that don't scale.

unit economicsMarket Exit

Fatal mistake: Cash tournament mobile gaming required regulatory compliance in most US states — killing the mass market

Founded	2012
Closed	2024
Country	USA
Sector	Gaming
Raised	400
Founder	Andrew Paradise

Key Events Timeline

2012-01

FOUNDING

Skillz founded

2018-06

DOWN ROUND

Down round or bridge financing

2024-06

SHUTDOWN

Market Exit: Skillz ceases operations

Full Analysis

Analyst plan

Documented cause

Skillz built a platform for real-money skill gaming on mobile — enabling any game developer to add competitive cash tournaments to their game. The concept was interesting and the early metrics showed engagement...

. The company went public via SPAC at a $3.5B initial valuation in late 2020, later peaking at $5.5B. The problems were structural: real-money gaming requires state-by-state gambling license complianc

Verified lesson

“Regulatory compliance requirements must be explicitly modeled in TAM calculations — available market ≠ accessible market...”

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€3.5B

Peak valuation

HypeCycle · MoatType · ResearchTags

Skillz raised €400M before cash tournament mobile gaming required regulatory compliance in most us states — killing the mass market ended it. See the documented cause, verified lesson and all failure signals.

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Skillz

Key Events Timeline

Documented cause

Verified lesson

FAQ

What did Skillz do?

Why did Skillz stock fall 98%?

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