AI tools that did not make it.
Defunct, abandoned, acquired, and rebranded AI tools. We keep a record of which products died, what killed them, how long they lived, and where their users went next. Useful context when evaluating any new AI tool's longevity - the pattern of failure repeats.
Advanced models, once free — walled off behind c.ai+ after the Google licensing deal.
CEO walked, funding cracked — the hosted API went dark. Weights stayed open; nobody to run them.
The agent dream, licensed to Amazon for parts. Leadership and core engineering moved to AWS.
A friendlier AI. Its founders left for Microsoft; model rights licensed, Pi quietly wound down.
Didn't die — just stopped being Bard. Same product, new name, $19.99/mo Advanced tier.
PATTERN OF FAILURE
Acqui-hires and shutdowns share a root cause: compute economics that don't pencil out without an Amazon, a Microsoft, or a foundation-model contract. The pattern repeats - wrapper companies and consumer-facing AI plays are most exposed. See Subsidy Risk Index ↗ for who's next.