Relay, an AI-powered workflow automation device constructed as a substitute for Zapier, shut down totally in August. The product let customers automate e mail and process workflows utilizing AI brokers, however as OpenAI, Google, and different bigger platforms constructed related automation instantly into their very own instruments, five-year-old Relay struggled to carry on to a purpose to exist as a stand-alone product.
Extra just lately, chatbot platform Character.ai filed for chapter simply 5 years after launching.
Except for Character.ai and Relay, loads of AI bets by no means even survive inside the businesses that construct them. Based on S&P International Market Intelligence, about 42% of AI initiatives are finally deserted by their company dad and mom. The explanations range: inadequate funding, technical challenges, competitors, issue scaling, or simply weak consumer demand.
The result’s a rising AI graveyard. Beneath is a have a look at among the most notable AI merchandise, startups, launches, and bets which have shut down, pivoted, or considerably missed expectations. Consider 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 most important gamers aren’t immune. OpenAI, one of the useful personal firms on this planet, has had its personal share of casualties and missteps. One of many more moderen examples was its try to show ChatGPT right into a broader “tremendous app.” On July 9, OpenAI up to date the app to mix a number of experiences, together with separate “Chat,” “Codex,” and “Work” modes, whereas renaming the normal, acquainted model “ChatGPT Basic.”
The redesign rapidly drew criticism from customers who discovered the brand new interface complicated and cluttered, and OpenAI rolled again the change quickly after, bringing the acquainted ChatGPT interface again.
That wasn’t OpenAI’s solely try to tug the whole lot underneath one roof. The corporate has additionally shut down a number of stand-alone apps and folded their options instantly 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 corporate did the identical factor with Operator, an AI agent that would browse the online and full duties on a consumer’s behalf, and OpenAI has more and more constructed picture era instantly into ChatGPT, shrinking the position of DALL-E as its personal separate vacation spot for creating pictures.
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 carried out successfully.
Nonetheless, Apple repeatedly pushed again the discharge of the brand new Siri, citing varied causes like engineering points 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 predicted to observe.
Microsoft’s Recall
Introduced at its 2024 Construct developer convention, Microsoft’s Recall function was pitched as an AI-powered “photographic reminiscence” for Home windows PCs, periodically taking screenshots of what a consumer was doing so they might later search again by means of their very own digital historical past.
Predictably, the announcement triggered an instantaneous backlash over privateness and safety. Critics argued that Recall may create a searchable archive of extremely delicate info, together with passwords, personal messages, monetary particulars, and different exercise. Microsoft delayed the function for practically 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 just lately constructed a device that would extract and show information that Recall had captured, reviving questions on whether or not Microsoft has truly fastened the underlying downside.
Notion Mail
Notion Mail launched in April 2025 as an AI-focused e mail product designed to assist customers arrange and automate their inboxes. Nonetheless, the corporate seen its customers have been utilizing separate AI brokers to deal with their e mail inboxes as a substitute. In consequence, Notion Mail is scheduled to close down on September 22.
Humane AI Pin
The Humane AI Pin might be one of the well-known failures in AI {hardware}. Designed to supply AI options by means of a wearable gadget moderately than a conventional smartphone, Humane raised $230 million from buyers and garnered vital consideration.
However the product struggled mightily with efficiency, and the state of affairs worsened when Humane warned clients to cease utilizing its charging case due to a possible battery fireplace threat. Humane then shut down its AI Pin enterprise 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 gadget. Unveiled at CES in January 2024, the AI companion was designed to carry out duties on behalf of its proprietor. Rabbit stated it had offered 100,000 models shortly after launch.
Nonetheless, robust preliminary gross sales didn’t imply it was a powerful product. Early critiques described the gadget as unfinished, with unreliable efficiency and a restricted variety of helpful integrations.
The corporate hasn’t given up, although. It has continued updating the R1, positioning it as a pc controller able to performing agentic duties. It additionally just lately introduced a brand new {hardware} challenge, dubbed “Venture Cyberdeck,” aimed toward creating a conveyable gadget 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 corporate shut down in Might 2026, partly as bigger platforms started providing related experiences to massive present audiences. As an example, 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. Customers may additionally vote on responses and earn cryptocurrency by means of the platform.
At its peak, the platform let customers check greater than 800 fashions, together with from firms reminiscent of OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. However in response to 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 stated conserving the service free grew to become too costly to maintain, and so they shut it down.
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