Cue
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Cue Health, founded in San Diego in 2010 by Clint Sever, built the first FDA-authorized at-home molecular COVID-19 test: a portable, cartridge-based platform for home and point-of-care use. At the pandemic's peak it struck agreements with Google and the NBA, landed a roughly $481 million Defense Department contract, and went public on Nasdaq in September 2021 at a valuation near $2.3 billion.
02 / Cue FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Cue bet everything on one product in a temporary market. When federal funding dried up and COVID-test demand collapsed — revenue fell from $483.5 million in 2022 to $70.9 million in 2023 — it had no diversified product line: the COVID test remained its only FDA-cleared product, and a follow-on RSV test was denied. In May 2024 the FDA warned users and providers to discard Cue's tests over unauthorized changes; Cue laid off all employees on May 24 and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on May 28.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Company founded
Clint Sever founds Cue Health in San Diego to build portable molecular diagnostics.
- Peak funding round
Cue goes public on Nasdaq in September 2021 at a valuation near $2.3 billion, backed by a roughly $481 million Defense Department contract.
- Bankruptcy filing
After an FDA warning letter in May 2024 telling users to discard its tests, Cue lays off all employees on May 24 and files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on May 28.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
First FDA-authorized at-home molecular COVID test
- 02
Pandemic peak: $2.3B IPO, $481M defense contract
- 03
Demand collapses 85%; no diversified product line
- 04
FDA warning letter May 2024; Chapter 7 bankruptcy