附近上门

Note: This story was updated to reflect the amount of venture money Brandless had raised.

-backed has reportedly shut down operations, according to an by Protocol鈥檚 Biz Carson.

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Brandless, a direct-to-consumer startup focused on food, beauty and personal care products, had announced it had raised a total of $292.5 million since its inception in 2016, according to .

led its last funding round, , which valued the company at $500 million, according to 附近上门. At that time, our former editor-in-chief Alex Wilhelm pointed out the fact that it was 鈥渁 huge check at a large cost in equity terms.鈥� But it turns out that SoftBank had only provided聽about $100 million upfront with a commitment to “fund around another $120 million if certain milestones were met. That final tranche never came,” according to Axios.

led its $35 million Series B in July 2017, a round that also included participation from NBA player , , and , among others.

Back in 2017, 附近上门 News sat down with 聽, co-founder and CEO of 聽to talk about how the company wanted to eliminate the inefficiency of the brand tax while changing the way people shop and live.

Background

It was bound to happen eventually. With all its misteps over the past couple of years, SoftBank was bound to have a portfolio company shut down.

The news that Brandless has shuttered is not entirely shocking, considering that last June, it got a new CEO amidst 鈥渢urmoil鈥� within the company, according to .

Looks like Brandless鈥� vision of $3 home goods just couldn鈥檛 keep up with the steep competition from rivals like . In fact, soon after it got that big cash infusion from SoftBank, the startup鈥檚 strategy seemed to change. According to TechCrunch鈥檚 Connie Laizos, in January 2019, the 鈥渃ompany added baby and pet products to its stable of offerings, some of them at a 鈥�

In a statement to , Brandless blamed a “fiercely competitive” retail market that was “unsustainable” for its business.

The news is the latest in a string of bad publicity for SoftBank. In January, we reported on how SoftBank-backed Colombian delivery unicorn had been hit with a trade secrets lawsuit. Also in January, we covered how two SoftBank-funded startups were in the news for either confirmed or rumored layoffs: Rappi had , according to Axios. And published an article that discount lodging provider reportedly was 鈥渇iring thousands of staff across China and India.鈥�

That followed pizza-making robot startup , also backed by SoftBank, laying off聽 53 percent of its employees.

SoftBank, a Japanese investment conglomerate, has been accused of overinflating valuations with its fat checks, and it鈥檚 not ending well for many companies. But the practice of investing too much, perhaps too soon, may be catching up with SoftBank. Earlier this year, that SoftBank is cutting its ties with startup investments, even after signing term sheets.

In fact, SoftBank’s heavy-handed check-writing is leading investors and startups alike to rethink sky-high valuations in favor of a聽path to profitability.

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