Ledger & Lore
← Back to the archive

Essential Products

HardwareUSAClosed 2020

Total Raised

$330M

Peak Valuation

$1B

Employees

Year Collapsed

2020

Business model

Premium Android smartphone (Essential Phone) with a modular accessory ecosystem.

In brief

Founded by Android's co-creator with huge early hype, aiming to build a "no-compromise" flagship phone independent of Apple or Samsung. The Essential Phone shipped late, sold poorly against entrenched flagship competitors, and a promised second-generation device never shipped; th…

See the What Happened tab for the full account.

Key facts

Founded
2015
Closed
2020
Headquarters
Palo Alto, USA
Industry
Hardware
Employees
Revenue
Undisclosed
Founders
Andy Rubin

Related failures

Often compared with: Apple (iPhone), Samsung (Galaxy).