LeEco
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
LeEco (Leshi) was founded in 2004 by Jia Yueting as an online video site, then expanded at breakneck speed into a conglomerate spanning smartphones, smart TVs, film production, sports broadcasting rights and electric vehicles, including backing Faraday Future. It launched in the US market in November 2016 with ambitions to rival Apple, Netflix and Tesla.
02 / LeEco FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Relentless over-expansion exhausted its cash: in November 2016 Jia admitted the company had grown too fast and was short of funds, calling it a big-company disease. Vendors sued over unpaid bills, the $2 billion Vizio acquisition collapsed for lack of financing and regulatory approval, and even a $2.2 billion emergency investment led by Sunac China in early 2017 could not stabilize the empire. LeEco retreated from the US, sold assets and cut staff.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Founded by Jia Yueting as an online video-streaming company in China.
- US launch and Vizio deal
Launched in the US in November 2016 and announced a $2 billion acquisition of TV maker Vizio; weeks later Jia admitted the company was short of funds.
- Bailout and collapse
In January 2017 Sunac China led a $2.2 billion emergency investment; in April 2017 the Vizio acquisition was abandoned; Jia Yueting stepped down from the listed company; LeEco wound down its US operations and put its Silicon Valley property up for sale.
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
Secured a $2.2 billion emergency investment led by Sunac China in January 2017.
- 02
Abandoned the $2 billion Vizio acquisition in April 2017 amid the cash crunch.
- 03
Retreated from the US market, sold the Silicon Valley property bought from Yahoo, and carried out mass layoffs.
- 04
Founder Jia Yueting stepped down from the listed company in 2017.
- 05
No public loss figure was disclosed.