Hyperloop project is close to closure – Kommersant
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Technology company Hyperloop One, the developer of the superfast vacuum train, is close to shutting down after failing to secure a single contract to build a system that actually works. This is reported by Bloomberg with reference to sources. According to them, the company has laid off most of its employees (as of 2022, there were about 200 of them) and is now looking for buyers for its assets, including equipment and a test section of the track.
Hyperloop One has also reportedly already closed its Los Angeles office. Once the company closes, its rights to designs and other intellectual property will be transferred to Emirati conglomerate DP World, which owns a majority stake, the sources said. Hyperloop One and DP World have not commented on Bloomberg’s information.
Hyperloop was one of the most popular projects of the mid-2010s. Then there was a lot of talk about the possibilities of such ultra-high-speed vacuum movement of people through a pipe, invented by businessman Elon Musk. According to PitchBook, Hyperloop One has raised a total of about $450 million, including from Richard Branson’s Virgin Group—for a while it was even called Virgin Hyperloop.
Appeared some projects Hyperloop construction in different countries. However, in the end, the company was only able to build a short test section of such a pipe in the Las Vegas area. In subsequent years, the company attracted more attention not for its developments, but scandals. Last year, Hyperloop One decided retrain from passenger to freight transportation, but this project did not begin full-fledged work.
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