Matrix Partners — portfolio autopsies

The AI+human translation startup that GPT-4 rendered obsolete

The web knowledge graph AI — LLMs made its core value proposition available for free.

India's social fashion pioneer ran out of style before it ran out of road.

India's POS hardware giant that UPI rendered obsolete while investors watched $76M evaporate.

The $17B customer service platform that tried to buy SurveyMonkey for $4.1B, got blocked by shareholders, and ended up going private at a $6.8B discount to its peak

Supply chain finance unicorn hopes dashed by a below-expectation SAP acquisition.

Jewelry rental raised $12.9M and sold for $14.6M — a decade of work for a 13% return to investors.

UK enterprise collaboration pioneer raised £36M and built a government-grade product—then lost the category to Microsoft Teams.

The on-demand delivery pioneer swallowed by the capital war it helped start.

The photonic chip leader that sued Cisco into buying it after Cisco tried to walk away mid-deal.

China's fashion photo app raised $150M and then disappeared into WeChat's shadow.

India's homestay OTA. Founder arrested mid-shutdown. Unprecedented Indian startup crisis.

Members-only flash sales pioneer raised $236M and hit $1B valuation. Trained customers to never pay full price. Luxury brands pulled merchandise. Sold to Hudson's Bay for $250M — a 75% haircut.

The anonymous sharing app that hit #1 in the App Store — and shut down 15 months later because anonymity enables cruelty at scale

The graphic design unicorn almost died at seed stage. 100 investor rejections.