Two from Seattle's own GeekWire. First up, October 19:
Convoy collapse: Read CEO’s memo detailing sudden shutdown of Seattle trucking startup
Convoy’s plan to transform the trucking industry has come to a screeching halt.
The Seattle company is closing its core business and laying off a majority of its workforce. “We hoped this day would never come,” Convoy CEO Dan Lewis wrote in a memo sent to employees Thursday morning.
The startup sent shockwaves through the Seattle tech ecosystem and broader trucking sector after abruptly shutting down operations on Wednesday.
In the memo, Lewis said the company faced both an “unprecedented freight market collapse” and “dramatic monetary tightening.”
“This combination ultimately crushed our progress at the same time that it was crushing our logical strategic acquirer — it was the perfect storm,” he wrote in the memo, which you can read in full below.
Lewis said the company spent the past four months assessing all possible strategic options for the business. “However, none of the options ultimately materialized into anything sufficient to keep the company going in its then current form,” he wrote.
The memo noted “potential future strategic options” but did not mention an acquisition.
Before this week, Convoy had around 500 employees, down from a peak of about 1,500 people. The company raised $260 million at a $3.8 billion valuation just 18 months ago....
....MUCH MORE
And October 18:
Convoy reportedly cancels shipments as questions swirl about status of Seattle trucking marketplace
Also at GeekWire, October 13:
Jeff Bezos buys $79M mansion in Florida’s exclusive ‘Billionaire Bunker’
