After being ousted from Hyperloop One in a dramatic boardroom battle, co-founder Brogan BamBrogan started Arrivo in 2017. The company's plan was different from Hyperloop One: instead of vacuum tubes, Arrivo would use magnetic levitation on an open track to propel vehicles at 200mph. The company announced a partnership with Colorado's DOT and raised venture funding.
Company Data
- Founded: 2017 — Brogan BamBrogan
- Failed: ~2018 (quietly shut down)
Arrivo made bold announcements but never built anything beyond concept renderings. The Colorado partnership produced a feasibility study but no construction. Within a year of launching, Arrivo stopped updating its website. Employees left. The company vanished so quietly that most outlets never reported its death—it simply stopped existing. A reminder that not all failures are spectacular; some just fade away.
Key Lesson
Announcements aren't progress. Founding a company on the back of a dramatic exit from another company makes for great PR but doesn't pay for engineering. Build first, announce second.