The AI Graveyard: A Running List of Projects and Startups That Didn't Make It
Relay, an AI-powered workflow automation tool built as an alternative to Zapier, shut down entirely on Monday. The product let users automate email and task workflows using AI agents, but as OpenAI, Google, and other larger platforms built similar automation directly into their own tools, the five-year-old startup struggled to justify its existence as a standalone product.
Relay — a startup outpaced by bigger platforms — is one version of a story playing out right now. But many AI bets never even survive inside the companies that build them. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, about 42% of AI initiatives are ultimately abandoned by their corporate parents. The reasons vary: insufficient funding, technical challenges, competition, difficulty scaling, or simply weak user demand.
The result is a growing AI graveyard. Below is a look at some of the most notable AI products, startups, launches, and bets that have shut down, pivoted, or significantly missed expectations. Think of it less as a scorecard of flops than as a record of what these attempts can teach the rest of the industry.
OpenAI Has Taken Several Stumbles
Image Credits: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg / Getty Images
Even the biggest players aren't immune. OpenAI, one of the most valuable private companies in the world, has had its own share of casualties and missteps. One of the more recent examples was its attempt to turn ChatGPT into a broader "super app." On July 9, OpenAI updated the app to combine several experiences, including separate "Chat," "Codex," and "Work" modes, while renaming the traditional, familiar version "ChatGPT Classic."
The redesign quickly drew criticism from users who found the new interface confusing and poorly executed. The backlash was so pronounced that OpenAI's president acknowledged the problem publicly, a rare admission of failure from a company known for its rapid iteration. The incident highlights a broader challenge in the AI industry: even well-resourced leaders can misjudge what users actually want, and moving too fast can alienate the very people a product is meant to serve.
As the AI landscape continues to mature in 2026, the graveyard serves as a sobering reminder. Success requires not just technological prowess but also product-market fit, timing, and the ability to adapt when the ground shifts beneath you. For every Relay that shuts down, there are dozens of internal projects quietly shelved, each carrying lessons for those who follow.
via TechCrunch AI