WeWork

WeWork was founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey and grew to a valuation of about $47 billion by 2019.^12568101112 The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2023 after a failed IPO and mounting losses.^{1251314151718} WeWork emerged from bankruptcy in June 2024 under new ownership led by Yardi Systems, with a reduced footprint and debt load.²⁶¹⁷

Timeline

Date	Event	Source
2010	WeWork was founded by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey.	1256811
2012	WeWork raised a $17 million Series A round.	11
2013-02	WeWork raised a $40 million Series B round at a $440 million valuation.	6
2013-11	WeWork raised a $150 million Series C round.	611
2014-10	WeWork raised a $355 million Series D round at a $5 billion valuation.	6
2015-03	WeWork raised a $434 million Series E round at a $10 billion valuation.	6
2016-11	WeWork raised a $690 million Series F round at a $17 billion valuation.	6
2017-08	WeWork raised a $4.4 billion Series G round at a $20 billion valuation.	6
2018-11	WeWork raised a $3 billion round at a $42 billion valuation.	6
2019-01	WeWork raised a $1 billion Series H round at a $47 billion valuation.	6
2019-08	WeWork filed its S-1 for an IPO, revealing significant losses and governance concerns.	512
2019-09	WeWork withdrew its IPO after investor pushback and valuation collapse.	112
2019-10	Adam Neumann stepped down as CEO.	12
2019-12	WeWork shut down Spacious, a restaurant coworking startup it had acquired four months earlier.	3
2021-10	WeWork went public via a SPAC merger with BowX Acquisition Corp.	2
2023-11-06	WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.	1251314151718
2024-04	WeWork announced a restructuring deal with creditors and a $450 million financing package.	1267
2024-05-02	Yardi Systems acquired a 60% stake in WeWork for $765 million.	6
2024-05-30	The bankruptcy court confirmed WeWork's Chapter 11 plan.	1317
2024-06-11	WeWork emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.	217

Money raised

WeWork raised a $17 million Series A round in 2012.¹¹ WeWork raised a $40 million Series B round in February 2013 at a $440 million valuation.⁶ WeWork raised a $150 million Series C round in November 2013.⁶¹¹ WeWork raised a $355 million Series D round in October 2014 at a $5 billion valuation.⁶ WeWork raised a $434 million Series E round in March 2015 at a $10 billion valuation.⁶ WeWork raised a $690 million Series F round in November 2016 at a $17 billion valuation.⁶ WeWork raised a $4.4 billion Series G round in August 2017 at a $20 billion valuation.⁶ WeWork raised a $3 billion round in November 2018 at a $42 billion valuation.⁶ WeWork raised a $1 billion Series H round in January 2019 at a $47 billion valuation.⁶ WeWork raised a total of $12.8 billion in private funding.¹⁰¹²

Investors named in the sources: SoftBank Group⁶⁷¹¹, SoftBank Vision Fund⁶⁷¹¹, T. Rowe Price⁶, JPMorgan Chase⁶, Hony Capital⁶¹¹, Goldman Sachs⁶⁷, Fidelity⁶, Benchmark⁶¹¹, Wellington Management⁶, Harvard Management Company⁶, Glade Brook Capital Partners⁶, Legend Holdings⁶¹¹, Aleph⁶, DivcoWest⁶, Temasek¹¹, Trustbridge Partners¹¹, Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels¹¹, Crosslink Capital¹¹, Sapphire Ventures¹¹, Cushman & Wakefield⁷, Brookfield Asset Management⁷.

What happened

WeWork was founded in 2010 by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey in New York City.^1256811 The company provided coworking spaces, offering flexible office solutions to freelancers, startups, and enterprises.¹²⁶¹¹ WeWork expanded rapidly, signing long-term leases and renovating spaces for short-term rentals.¹²⁵ By 2019, WeWork had over 400 locations and more than 400,000 members.⁸ WeWork's valuation reached $47 billion in January 2019 after a $1 billion investment from SoftBank.^12568101112

The company filed for an IPO in August 2019, revealing significant losses and governance concerns.⁵¹² Investors criticized the company's business model, profitability, and CEO Adam Neumann's conflicts of interest.¹⁵¹² WeWork withdrew its IPO in September 2019 and its valuation dropped to around $10 billion.¹¹² Adam Neumann stepped down as CEO in late 2019.¹² SoftBank provided additional funding to keep WeWork afloat, eventually investing about $17 billion.²

WeWork went public via a SPAC merger in October 2021, valuing the company at about $9 billion.² The COVID-19 pandemic reduced demand for office space, worsening WeWork's financial situation.² WeWork's debt and lease obligations remained high, with liabilities of about $18.7 billion against $15.1 billion in assets as of mid-2023.² In September 2023, WeWork announced plans to renegotiate or reject nearly all its leases.² On November 6, 2023, WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States.^{1251314151718}

The bankruptcy filing listed 69 leases that the company intended to reject immediately.¹⁵ WeWork's bankruptcy case was filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey.¹³¹⁷ In April 2024, WeWork announced a restructuring deal with creditors and a $450 million financing package.¹²⁶⁷ Yardi Systems agreed to provide $337 million of the $450 million needed for WeWork to exit bankruptcy and took a 60% stake in the reorganized company.⁶ The bankruptcy court confirmed WeWork's Chapter 11 plan on May 30, 2024.¹³¹⁷

WeWork emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 11, 2024.²¹⁷ The restructuring reduced WeWork's debt by over $4 billion and cut future lease obligations by about 50%.²¹⁷ WeWork's portfolio was reduced to about 600 locations in 37 countries, down from about 770 locations in 39 countries.² WeWork's new CEO, John Santora, emphasized flexible work as a strategic imperative.² WeWork India, a joint venture, planned its own IPO potentially raising about $400 million.²

Spacious, a restaurant coworking startup acquired by WeWork in August 2019, was shut down in December 2019.³ Spacious's entire staff of 50 employees was laid off.³ Spacious members received prorated refunds and discounts on select WeWork memberships.³ A whistleblower filed a complaint with the SEC alleging that WeWork executives pushed the Spacious acquisition through without enough outside review, a claim WeWork denied.³ WeWork's bankruptcy filing revealed that the company had about $18.7 billion in liabilities and $15.1 billion in assets.²

WeWork's lease costs represented about two-thirds of its operating expenses.² The company's restructuring plan included raising $400 million in new equity.²¹⁷ WeWork's former CEO Adam Neumann expressed interest in buying back the company but was told by the bankruptcy judge that his bid was moot absent paying off billions in debt.² WeWork's non-U.S. and Canada locations and franchise operations were not part of the Chapter 11 proceedings.² As of 2024, many WeWork locations remained operational.¹

WeWork's restructuring deal included a new CEO, John Santora, appointed in April 2024.¹ WeWork's valuation collapsed from $47 billion to less than $10 billion in a few months in 2019.¹ WeWork's IPO prospectus raised questions about its governance, business model, and profitability.¹ Adam Neumann was accused of treating WeWork like a personal piggy bank and obtaining loans from the company to fund his lifestyle.¹ WeWork's board was criticized for failing to provide adequate oversight of Neumann's actions.¹

WeWork's business model involved signing long-term leases and subleasing space at higher rates, which proved unsustainable when demand fell.¹²⁵ WeWork's losses in 2018 were $1.9 billion.⁸ WeWork's founder Adam Neumann took $700 million out of the company before the IPO.¹² WeWork's parent company withdrew its planned IPO after investor pushback.¹² WeWork's valuation was revised to around $10 billion to court IPO investors.¹²

WeWork's CEO Adam Neumann had to give up some of his personal voting power.¹² WeWork's governance issues included conflicts of interest, such as Neumann owning properties that WeWork rented.¹² WeWork's bankruptcy was described by CNN as the culmination of a 'stunning downfall'.¹ WeWork's restructuring deal with creditors was agreed in April 2024.¹ WeWork's board reshuffles were made and a new CEO, John Santora, was appointed.¹

Legal outcomes

• filedWeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 6, 2023.^{1251314151718}
• filedA whistleblower filed a complaint with the SEC alleging that WeWork executives pushed the Spacious acquisition through without enough outside review.³
• dismissedWeWork denied the whistleblower's allegations regarding the Spacious acquisition.³
• settledThe bankruptcy court confirmed WeWork's Chapter 11 plan on May 30, 2024.¹³¹⁷
• settledWeWork emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 11, 2024.²¹⁷

Where the founders are now

Adam Neumann stepped down as CEO in late 2019.¹² Adam Neumann expressed interest in buying back WeWork during its bankruptcy, but the bankruptcy judge said his bid was moot absent paying off billions in debt.² Adam Neumann was central to much of the criticism levelled at WeWork during its crisis period.¹

Lessons, as others put them

"The WeWork saga offers invaluable lessons on the importance of sound corporate governance."Dan Byrne, The Corporate Governance Institute¹

"Not asking the right questions is a core governance failure."Dan Byrne, The Corporate Governance Institute¹

Sources

1. What exactly happened to WeWork? | The Corporate Governance Institute, The Corporate Governance Institute
2. WeWork in 2026: History, Bankruptcy & Coworking Future, 2727coworking.com, Tue May 05
3. WeWork is shutting down a restaurant coworking startup it acquired only 4 months ago, Vox, 2019-12-12
5. Why WeWork Died: Lessons from the plight of a $47B t̶e̶c̶h̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶r̶t̶u̶p̶ landlord, howtheygrow.co, Nov 29, 20
6. WeWork Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors | Multiples, multiples.vc, Sep 18, 20
7. How Much Did WeWork Raise? Funding & Key Investors | Clay, clay.com
8. WeWork's First Decade Gives Hints of Challenges Ahead, United States
10. WeWork: The Greatest Heist in Startup History - Medium, vyshnavits.medium.com
11. WeWork: Funding, Team & Investors, Startup Intros, Jul 13, 20
12. Where WeWork Went Wrong and What We Can Learn From It — Impact Foundation, Impact Foundation
13. WeWork Inc. (23-19865-JKS) | District of New Jersey | United States Bankruptcy Court, njb.uscourts.gov
14. Epiq 11, dm.epiq11.com
15. SoftBank's WeWork, once most valuable US startup ..., reuters.com, Nov 7, 202
17. WeWork emerges from chapter 11, Davis Polk, Jun 13, 20
18. WeWork: Working Itself Through Bankruptcy, gbclawgroup.com

How this case file was put together

Every statement on this page carries a numbered note, and every note points to a court record, a regulatory filing or a named publication in the list of sources. Each statement was checked against the text of the sources it cites before it was published: a figure, a date or a name the cited source does not contain was cut rather than kept. Allegations are shown as allegations, with their status at the time of the source (filed, charged, convicted, pleaded, settled, dismissed or pending). Quoted lessons are the words of the person or publication named with them, copied from the cited source; nothing here is our own opinion of why the company failed.

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