The AI graveyard: a operating listing of initiatives and startups that did not make it

Relay, an AI-powered workflow automation software constructed as a substitute for Zapier, shut down totally in August. The product let customers automate e mail and activity workflows utilizing AI brokers, however as OpenAI, Google, and different bigger platforms constructed comparable automation immediately into their very own instruments, five-year-old Relay struggled to carry on to a motive to exist as a stand-alone product.

More lately, chatbot platform Character.ai filed for bankruptcy simply 5 years after launching.

Aside from Character.ai and Relay, loads of AI bets by no means even survive inside the businesses that construct them. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, about 42% of AI initiatives are finally deserted by their company mother and father. The causes fluctuate: inadequate funding, technical challenges, competitors, issue scaling, or simply weak person demand.

The result’s a rising AI graveyard. Below is a take a look at among the most notable AI merchandise, startups, launches, and bets which have shut down, pivoted, or considerably missed expectations. Think of it much less as a scorecard of flops than as a report of what these makes an attempt can (hopefully) train the remainder of the trade.

OpenAI has taken a number of stumbles

Even the largest gamers aren’t immune. OpenAI, probably the most worthwhile non-public corporations within the international stage, has had its personal share of casualties and missteps. One of the more moderen examples was its try to show ChatGPT right into a broader “super app.” On July 9, OpenAI updated the app to mix a number of experiences, together with separate “Chat,” “Codex,” and “Work” modes, whereas renaming the standard, acquainted model “ChatGPT Classic.”

The redesign shortly drew criticism from customers who discovered the brand new interface complicated and cluttered, and OpenAI rolled again the change soon after, bringing the acquainted ChatGPT interface again.

That wasn’t OpenAI’s solely try to drag the whole lot beneath one roof. The firm has additionally shut down a number of stand-alone apps and folded their options immediately into ChatGPT — a technique that’s labored out higher than the redesign did. ChatGPT Atlas, a stand-alone AI-powered internet browser, lasted lower than a 12 months earlier than being discontinued on August 9, with its most helpful options absorbed into ChatGPT.

The firm did the identical factor with Operator, an AI agent that would browse the online and full duties on a person’s behalf, and OpenAI has more and more constructed picture technology immediately into ChatGPT, shrinking the function of DALL-E as its personal separate vacation spot for creating photographs.

We can also’t overlook its video-sharing platform, Sora, which struggled with excessive working prices and user-retention challenges and shut down in March 2026.

Apple’s Siri AI

When Apple unveiled Apple Intelligence in 2024, an improved Siri was one of many highlighted options. The pitch promised a Siri that would perceive context, know what was occurring throughout apps, and get duties completed successfully.

However, Apple repeatedly pushed back the discharge of the brand new Siri, citing numerous causes like engineering issues and bugs. This delay finally contributed to a $250 million settlement over claims concerning how Apple marketed the AI capabilities of the iPhone 16.

Siri AI lastly appeared within the iOS 27 beta this previous July, with the brand new AI-powered model rolling out to English-language customers first this month; help for different languages is anticipated to comply with.

Microsoft’s Recall

Announced at its 2024 Build developer convention, Microsoft’s Recall feature was pitched as an AI-powered “photographic reminiscence” for Windows PCs, periodically taking screenshots of what a person was doing so they might later search again by way of their very own digital historical past.

Predictably, the announcement triggered an instantaneous backlash over privateness and safety. Critics argued that Recall might create a searchable archive of extremely delicate info, together with passwords, non-public messages, monetary particulars, and different exercise. Microsoft delayed the function for almost a 12 months, giving the corporate time to rethink its safety and privateness protections. 

Even after a redesign, the controversy hasn’t gone away. A cybersecurity researcher lately constructed a software that would extract and display data that Recall had captured, reviving questions on whether or not Microsoft has really mounted the underlying downside.

Notion Mail

Notion Mail launched in April 2025 as an AI-focused e mail product designed to assist customers set up and automate their inboxes. However, the corporate observed its customers had been utilizing separate AI brokers to deal with their e mail inboxes as a substitute. As a end result, Notion Mail is scheduled to close down on September 22.

Humane AI Pin

The Humane AI Pin might be probably the most well-known failures in AI {hardware}. Designed to supply AI options by way of a wearable machine somewhat than a conventional smartphone, Humane raised $230 million from buyers and garnered vital consideration. 

But the product struggled mightily with efficiency, and the scenario worsened when Humane warned prospects to cease utilizing its charging case due to a possible battery hearth threat. Humane then shut down its AI Pin trade in February 2025, with many of the firm’s belongings acquired by HP for $116 million.

Rabbit R1

The Rabbit R1 was one other closely hyped AI machine. Unveiled at CES in January 2024, the AI companion was designed to carry out duties on behalf of its proprietor. Rabbit mentioned it had offered 100,000 items shortly after launch.

However, robust preliminary gross sales didn’t imply it was a powerful product. Early reviews described the machine as unfinished, with unreliable efficiency and a restricted variety of helpful integrations.

The firm hasn’t given up, although. It has continued updating the R1, positioning it as a pc controller able to performing agentic duties. It additionally lately introduced a brand new {hardware} challenge, dubbed “Project Cyberdeck,” geared toward creating a conveyable machine constructed for vibe-coding.

Huxe

Huxe was an AI audio app, constructed by former builders of Google’s NotebookLM, that turned written info into conversational, podcast-style audio.

The firm shut down in May 2026, partly as bigger platforms started providing comparable experiences to massive current audiences. For occasion, Spotify has been increasing its personal AI-powered audio instruments.

Yupp

Yupp was an attention-grabbing AI product: a free playground that allowed customers to match responses from a whole lot of AI fashions aspect by aspect. Users might additionally vote on responses and earn cryptocurrency by way of the platform.

At its peak, the platform let customers check greater than 800 fashions, together with from corporations equivalent to OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. But in keeping with its founders, Yupp by no means achieved robust sufficient product-market match to outlive. The platform shut down in March 2026. 

Figgs AI

Figgs AI operated from 2023 to 2024, letting customers create and work together with customizable AI characters for role-play and storytelling. The platform reportedly drew greater than 1 million customers, however its builders mentioned conserving the service free grew to become too costly to maintain, and so they shut it down.