DEADBATCH W16AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
Embark Trucks logo

Embark Trucks

SPAC'd at $5.2B with zero revenue. Stock dropped 99%. Sold for parts.

$117M + SPAC
Capital Raised
$5.2B
Peak Value
7 YRS
Lifespan
70% of staff laid off
Body Count

AUTOPSY REPORT

YC W16 alum that went public via SPAC at a $5.2B valuation. The catch? the company had zero revenue, zero commercial deployments, and zero path to profitability — it was a 7-year-old pre-revenue company valued at $5.2 billion . Stock dropped over 99% from the offer price. Laid off 70% of staff. CEO Alex Rodrigues blamed 'capital markets turning their backs on pre-revenue companies.' Applied Intuition bought the remains in 2023. The self-driving truck never drove itself to revenue.

DAMAGE: 70% of staff laid off

TIMELINE

2016Founded, joins YC W16
2018-07Raises $30M Series B from Sequoia
2021-06Goes public via SPAC at $5.2B valuation
2022-01Stock drops 50% in first month of trading
2023-03Lays off 70% of staff, begins wind-down
2023Acquired by Applied Intuition for scraps

SOURCES

→ Crunchbase: Embark Goes From $5B to Kaput in 16 Months→ TechCrunch: Embark Explores Liquidation of Self-Driving Assets→ FreightWaves: Embark Laying Off 70%, Winding Down
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Satirical project. Not affiliated with Y Combinator. All information from public records.