WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States on Monday, as part of what it described as a «comprehensive reorganization» of its business.
The startup, which was once worth about $47 billion, had started sending distress signals months in advance.
Here’s a quick timeline of WeWork's journey from being one of the world’s most valuable startups to insolvency.
WeWork was founded by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey in 2010.
The startup opened its first location in New York City, in April 2011. It focused on leasing office space, rather than buying.
PepsiCo placed a few employees in a WeWork office in 2011, making the location a startup incubator.
WeWork’s customer base expanded to over 350 startups by 2013.
Also read | WeWork India's operations remain unaffected, as company files for bankruptcy in the US
JP Morgan Chase & Co, T. Rowe Price, Wellington Management, Goldman Sachs, the Harvard Corporation, and Benchmark were among the marquee names that had invested in the startup by 2014.
In August 2015, the company announced its first acquisition: real estate and construction technology company CASE.
In 2016, WeWork launched a co-living venture called WeLive in New York City and in Crystal City (Virginia). It terminated this business line inJuly 2021.
InJuly 2017, WeWork India partnered with Embassy Group to open its first space in Bengaluru, named WeWork Galaxy, with the capacity to host 2,200