Loon (Alphabet)
Total Raised
Undisclosed
Peak Valuation
Undisclosed
Employees
—
Year Collapsed
2021
Business model
High-altitude balloons providing 4G LTE internet connectivity to remote and underserved regions, each balloon covering an area that would otherwise require roughly 200 cell towers.
In brief
One of Alphabet's most ambitious "moonshot" projects, using solar-powered stratospheric balloons to beam internet to remote regions, notably helping restore cell service in Puerto Rico after a hurricane and gaining Kenyan government approval for a real commercial deployment. Desp…
See the What Happened tab for the full account.
Key facts
- Founded
- 2011
- Closed
- 2021
- Headquarters
- Mountain View, USA
- Industry
- Connectivity
- Employees
- —
- Revenue
- Undisclosed
- Founders
- led by CEO Alastair Westgarth
Related failures
Argo AI
2016–2022Autonomous Vehicles · USA
Ran out of funding$3.60BBird
2017–2023Mobility · USA
Ran out of funding$1BConvoy
2015–2023Logistics / Freight · USA
Ran out of funding$1BProteus Digital Health
2001–2020Digital Health · USA
Ran out of funding$487MHyperloop One
2014–2023Transport · USA
Ran out of funding$450MPear Therapeutics
2013–2023Digital Health · USA
Ran out of funding$450M
Often compared with: Starlink, OneWeb.