// startup autopsy

Zimbra

A promising email challenger lost in acquisition limbo

acquisition gone wrongAcqui-hire

Fatal mistake: Zimbra was sold to Yahoo, which failed to invest in or grow the product, triggering a cascade of subsequent resales that destroyed brand equity and product momentum.

Founded	2003
Closed	2010
Country	USA
Sector	Saas

50%

Key Events Timeline

2003-01-01

FOUNDING

Zimbra founded in California to build a next-generation open-source email and collaboration platform.

2006-09-01

FUNDING

Raised $14.5M total in funding; product gaining strong enterprise and open-source community traction.

2007-09-01

ACQUISITION ATTEMPT

Yahoo acquired Zimbra for approximately $350M, promising investment and global distribution.

2010-01-01

CEO CHANGE

Yahoo sold Zimbra to VMware as part of asset rationalization, fragmenting team and roadmap.

2010-12-01

SHUTDOWN

Zimbra's independent identity effectively ended as it began a multi-year journey through corporate resales.

Full Analysis

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Documented cause

Zimbra was a competitive open-source email and collaboration platform that failed to maintain market relevance through a series of acquisitions and mismanagement. Originally built as a standalone SaaS product, ...

Zimbra was acquired by Yahoo in 2007 for approximately $350 million. However, Yahoo failed to properly integrate or invest in the product, leading to stagnation. The company was subsequently sold to V

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€26.1M

Peak valuation

HypeCycle · MoatType · ResearchTags

Zimbra raised €14.5M before zimbra was sold to yahoo, which failed to invest in or grow the product, triggering a cascade of subsequent resales that destroyed brand equity and product momentum. ended it. See the documented cause, verified lesson and all failure signals.

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Key Events Timeline

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