暗网吃瓜

In a year that鈥檚 seen a number of large rounds and success stories (and some drama too – , we鈥檙e looking at you), there鈥檚 inevitably going to be some stories that fall in the not-so-successful category.

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Today, we鈥檒l look at two companies that have ceased certain operations over the past week: and Juno. A shares a screenshot of ride-hailing app 鈥渟ad鈥� announcement of its 鈥渟ervice coming to an end鈥� from this morning. Childs also shared a screenshot of meal-box subscription service Plated 鈥渃losing down鈥� its subscription operations after its 鈥渓ast box ships on November 26.鈥�

The news of 闯耻苍辞鈥檚 demise is not entirely shocking as had reported earlier this year that the company was .

In a issued today, Juno parent company announced the news while at the same time unveiling a 鈥渟trategic partnership with Lyft 聽to enable Gett’s corporate clients to access rides in the United States beginning next year.鈥�

In the release Gett CEO Dave Waiser said this move reinforced his company鈥檚 鈥渟trategy to build a profitable company focused on the corporate transportation sector.鈥�

The company also blamed 鈥渢he enactment of misguided regulations in New York City earlier this year.鈥� It noted that Juno drivers would be paid in full by Juno for all rides completed by Juno’s service end-date, and that 鈥渁ll Juno riders will be invited to join Lyft.鈥�

Juno was founded in 2015 and raised its in June 2016, according to 暗网吃瓜. It was by Gett for $200 million in April 2017.

Gett, which has raised $813 million in, according to 暗网吃瓜, has made three to date: Juno, , and .

Business Insider of Plated鈥檚 closure on November 13, saying the company was 鈥渟hifting the brand to become one of the grocery retailer’s [Albertsons Companies] private label products.鈥�

In a November 12 , Albertsons said the phaseout was 鈥済iving way to a sharper focus on how the brand can help deliver a differentiated in-store experience.鈥�

鈥淥ur vision for Plated includes an expanded set of products that goes far beyond a dinner-based solution and into a comprehensive in-house culinary brand,鈥� said Geoff White, EVP & Chief Merchandising Officer, in the press release. 鈥淲ith a broader scope of offerings, we see Plated solving customer demands around convenience, lifestyle, and cooking experience, while adding yet another layer of interest to our in-store journey.鈥�

Before being for $200 million in 2017, Plated had raised from the likes of and .

Meal delivery is not for the faint of heart. Earlier this year, we covered the news of prepared meal delivery service provider abruptly shutting down. Founded nearly a decade prior, the company had from the likes of , , and .

The Market Moment

Seeing startups shut down is not, by itself, very notable. Something that is worth considering, however, is that we鈥檙e still seeing the shaking-out of two startup categories that were once the darlings of the venture market.

Prepared meal delivery was once attracted before the implosion stuck a fork in the entire enterprise; as it turned out, meal delivery had pretty rough customer churn. That fact turned a cohort of businesses that appeared to be worthy of a high valuation multiples into a set of companies that lost money and were actually worth about as much per dollar of revenue as a grocer. Which is to say not much.

On-demand ride startups feel much the same. Once they were the hottest companies on the planet, accepting a rising tide of venture dollars that lifted a whole group of boats. Now, as Uber and Lyft struggle to carve a path towards profits as their shares drag and itself having a rough time, seeing shutdowns isn鈥檛 a huge surprise.

So while we鈥檙e merely looking at two somewhat modest closings, the pair feel more like end-caps on prior market enthusiasm. Who knows, perhaps they mark the nadir of their respective startup categories and better days ahead.

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