The graveyard of good ideas
Solutions that were tried, and what stopped them.
Patents that were rejected or abandoned, products that shut down, projects that went quiet. Borrow the idea, avoid the dead end.
2,500 solutions
- startupShut down2025
Launch HN: Bild AI (YC W25) – Understand Construction Blueprints Using AI
Hi HN! We're Roop and Puneet, the founders of Bild AI ( https://www.bild.ai ). Bild AI uses machine learning to read construction blueprints and extract detailed material quantity and cost estimates. Here's our demo: https://youtu.be/vBDl7Mh7iEc The problem we're tackling is the sheer manual effort that goes into generating material quantities and cost estimates from blueprints today. Contractors and suppliers spend countless hours doing takeoffs by drawing on blueprints by hand - it's tedious, error-prone, and costs the global industry $30B a year. A single mistake can lead to thousands in losses on a project. My co-founder Puneet experienced this firsthand as he was building hundreds of houses in Canada. Meanwhile, my background is in applied ML - I started at Google at 19, then Waymo where I built perception models for self-driving cars. Pu
Why it failed: Hi HN! We're Roop and Puneet, the founders of Bild AI ( https://www.bild.ai ). Bild AI uses machine learning to read construction blueprints and extract detailed material quantity and cost estimates. Here's our demo: https://youtu.be/vBDl7Mh7iEc
rooppal
- startupShut down2025
Launch HN: Rowboat (YC S24) – Open-source IDE for multi-agent systems
Hi HN! We are Arjun, Ramnique, and Akhilesh, the founders of Rowboat ( https://www.rowboatlabs.com ), an AI-assisted IDE for building and managing multi-agent systems with a copilot. Using Rowboat, you can build both deterministic automation agents (e.g. automatically summarizing emails) and more agentic systems (e.g. a meeting prep assistant or a customer support bot). Here are some examples: - Meeting-prep assistant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZTP4xZM2DY - Customer support assistant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfo-OfgOl8w - Gmail and Reddit assistant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r7P4Vlcn2g Rowboat is open-source ( https://github.com/rowboatlabs/rowboat ) and has a growing community. We first launched it on Show HN a few months ago ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43763967 ).
Why it failed: Hi HN! We are Arjun, Ramnique, and Akhilesh, the founders of Rowboat ( https://www.rowboatlabs.com ), an AI-assisted IDE for building and managing multi-agent systems with a copilot. Using Rowboat, you can build both deterministic automation agents (e.g. automatically s
segmenta
- startupShut down2025
Show HN: Nxtscape – an open-source agentic browser
Hi HN - we're Nithin and Nikhil, twin brothers and founders of nxtscape.ai (YC S24). We're building Nxtscape ("next-scape") - an open-source, agentic browser for the AI era. -- Why bother building a new browser? For the first time since Netscape was released in 1994, it feels like we can reimagine browsers from scratch for the age of AI agents. The web browser of tomorrow might not look like what we have today. We saw how tools like Cursor gave developers a 10x productivity boost, yet the browser—where everyone else spends their entire workday—hasn't fundamentally changed. And honestly, we feel like we're constantly fighting the browser we use every day. It's not one big thing, but a series of small, constant frustrations. I'll have 70+ tabs open from three different projects and completely lose my train of thought. And simple stuff like reordering
Why it failed: Hi HN - we're Nithin and Nikhil, twin brothers and founders of nxtscape.ai (YC S24). We're building Nxtscape ("next-scape") - an open-source, agentic browser for the AI era. -- Why bother building a new browser? For the first time since Netscape was released i
felarof
- startupShut down2025
Show HN: StepKit, an open and cross-platform durable execution standard
Hi HN! I’m Tony, one of the co-founders of Inngest ( https://inngest.com/ ). Wanted to show you something we’re working on: StepKit. StepKit is an open source SDK and framework for building and iterating on durable workflows that run on any platform (self-hosted, Inngest, Cloudflare, Netlify, etc.) without requiring any provider or bundler-specific code. Here’s the repo: https://github.com/inngest/stepkit . StepKit extracts the core execution loop that we built in Inngest and makes it fully open, Apache 2, and hackable/pluggable to different backends. We don’t want people to have to go through multiple major versions in SDKs to learn the lessons we’ve already learned in production: It needs to work anywhere: This SDK is push-based and receives tasks via API endpoints, so it works anywhere (servers, serverless, k8s, etc). That's also customizab
Why it failed: Hi HN! I’m Tony, one of the co-founders of Inngest ( https://inngest.com/ ). Wanted to show you something we’re working on: StepKit. StepKit is an open source SDK and framework for building and iterating on durable workflows that run on any platform (self-hosted, I
tonyhb
- startupShut down2025
Launch HN: Promptless (YC W25) – Automatic updates for customer-facing docs
Hi HN! I’m Prithvi, and my co-founder Frances and I built Promptless ( https://gopromptless.ai ), an AI teammate that proactively updates docs while you ship software. There’s a demo video at https://youtu.be/pmslSl8dOgE , and also a “Live Demo on Your Own Docs” at https://gopromptless.ai/demo where you can plug in the URL to any existing docs site and simulate a "trigger event" to see what Promptless would have suggested. We also opened up the full product with automatic triggers for a free trial for HN this week (if you sign up at https://gopromptless.ai/hn ). We built Promptless because we wished we had it, both as doc authors and doc consumers. On the authoring side, I used to run engineering at a fintech company, and since no developer enjoys updating docs, they often went out-of-date and customers complained. On the c
Why it failed: Hi HN! I’m Prithvi, and my co-founder Frances and I built Promptless ( https://gopromptless.ai ), an AI teammate that proactively updates docs while you ship software. There’s a demo video at https://youtu.be/pmslSl8dOgE , and also a “Live Demo on Your Ow
prithvi2206
- startupShut down2025
Show HN: Inworld TTS – high-quality, affordable, and low-latency TTS
Hi HN, Igor here, one of the engineers behind this project. High-quality voice APIs are usually either expensive, slow, or both. Cheaper and faster solutions very often lack realism. We decided to build Inworld TTS to bridge this gap. We just released two multilingual models. Our small model, named TTS-1, is on par with SOTA models quality-wise given objective metrics WER/SIM/DNSMOS. A larger model, TTS-1-Max, is even better. It can produce more nuanced speech and has ~3.5% better WER across all 11 supported languages averaged. Both models also support markup tags (e.g. prepend "[happy]" to the text to make the generation more enthusiastic, etc). The models are built with LLaMA 1B and 8B being the SpeechLM backbones for TTS-1 and TTS-1-Max respectively. We up-trained both models on a mixture of text and audio, then finetuned on text-audio pairs and polished final chec
Why it failed: Hi HN, Igor here, one of the engineers behind this project. High-quality voice APIs are usually either expensive, slow, or both. Cheaper and faster solutions very often lack realism. We decided to build Inworld TTS to bridge this gap. We just released two multilingual models. Our
rogilop
- startupShut down2025
Show HN: Slurm-web – open-source lightweight web UI for Slurm HPC/AI clusters
Hi HN, I’d like to share Slurm-web, an open source web interface to monitor Slurm HPC & AI clusters in real time. It provides a read-only overview of job queues and node status with metrics and advanced visualizations – useful to sysadmins, managers and end-users – without needing to SSH in or run command-line tools. Slurm is the world's leading workload manager and the de facto standard for HPC and AI clusters. It has a powerful command-line interface, but it's complex to use. Many HPC centers deploy advanced stacks to create custom dashboards with exporters, Prometheus, InfluxDB, Grafana, which are complex and time-consuming to design and maintain. Slurm-web offers clear and accessible views of the cluster – with minimal setup and overhead. And it is released as free software under the GNU GPL v3! Key features: - Dashboard with interactive charts of resources and jobs sta
Why it failed: Hi HN, I’d like to share Slurm-web, an open source web interface to monitor Slurm HPC & AI clusters in real time. It provides a read-only overview of job queues and node status with metrics and advanced visualizations – useful to sysadmins, managers and end-users – without ne
rezib
- startupShut down2025
Show HN: Breakout with a roguelite/vampire survivor twist
Hi HN ! This is an open source project I've been working on for a while. It's actually the third breakout-like game I've built. I really like the simplicity of the concept, having just one input (the puck horizontal position) and a simple gameplay that gives a low skill floor. My girlfriend and I played a lot of the excellent LBreakoutHD, an open source breakout game that follows the traditional formula of having multiple lives, scoring points by breaking bricks and catching the good upgrades that spawn randomly and fall down, while avoiding bad upgrades. She liked this game because it is non-violent, and doesn't make her sick like the first person 3D games. There are some issues though, it gets boring to break the last bricks, it's a bit unfair or slow sometimes, and the run length is too long with 30 something levels to clear for a high score. I wanted to make
Why it failed: Hi HN ! This is an open source project I've been working on for a while. It's actually the third breakout-like game I've built. I really like the simplicity of the concept, having just one input (the puck horizontal position) and a simple gameplay that gives a low
lecarore
- startupShut down2025
Show HN: I built an app store for open-source financial plans (on spreadsheets)
Hi HN, Mahmoud here. I'm usually here for Python/FOSS reasons (boltons, glom, CalVer, ZeroVer), and that's still the case, but this time with a twist. While I was on parental leave from Stripe a couple years back, I started helping my parents figure out their retirement. They're academics coming from overseas, so let's just say I'm a big part of the plan. We found ourselves quibbling over Zoom screenshares, multi-tabbed Google Sheets, and countless links to articles and blog posts. When we looked for professional advice, we found conflicting guidance and misaligned incentives. I looked at the tools my friends and I use for big decisions and saw a huge gap. This isn't budgeting, nor is this investing. This is actual finance . Money management and decision making. Your options are usually: 1. Read a bunch of Bogleheads, Investopedia, Wikipedia, and Reddit
Why it failed: Hi HN, Mahmoud here. I'm usually here for Python/FOSS reasons (boltons, glom, CalVer, ZeroVer), and that's still the case, but this time with a twist. While I was on parental leave from Stripe a couple years back, I started helping my parents figure out their retir
mhashemi
- startupShut down2025
Show HN: Pipo360 – Generate production-ready back end APIs in 60 seconds with AI
Hi HN , I got tired of writing the same boilerplate over and over — DB setup, auth, routes, security — every time I built a backend. So I built Pipo360 — an AI-powered tool that generates production-ready backends in under 60 seconds, from just a plain-text description. How it works: Type what you need “Create a task management API with user auth and MongoDB” Hit Generate Get real, exportable code Auth (JWT) Database schema CRUD routes Deployable to Vercel, AWS, etc. No templates. No lock-in. Just code that works. Why it’s different: Built with Gemini AI + human supervision (to ensure real prod-quality output) Exports to MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite Secure by default (JWT, RBAC, etc.) Supports no-login backend previews Try it live (No signup needed): https://pipo360.xyz Would love feedback: What backend would you try first? What would make it better for your workflow? Wou
Why it failed: Hi HN , I got tired of writing the same boilerplate over and over — DB setup, auth, routes, security — every time I built a backend. So I built Pipo360 — an AI-powered tool that generates production-ready backends in under 60 seconds, from just a plain-text description. How it wo
the_plug
- startupShut down2025
Show HN: Galaxybrain.com – a JSON-based knowledge system
Hi HN, I’d like to share a project I’ve been working on called GalaxyBrain. It’s a tool for organizing information. Key features: Embeddable dynamic metadata: as you type, metadata is generated in the background. This metadata can be accessed and embedded directly into the page. Light programming concepts built in: you can add custom values (think variables) to any page, then reference those values across different pages to build dynamic relationships. Metadata can be chained together: referencing values on other pages, or by using a formula. Updates to anything flow through the entire system (like a spreadsheet). It runs on local JSON files: plan is to offer a hosted version, with structured end points for everything so you can use it as a datastore. If you host the json files locally it will be free forever. I use it to build a model of my life. Everything I care about has a page, each
Why it failed: Hi HN, I’d like to share a project I’ve been working on called GalaxyBrain. It’s a tool for organizing information. Key features: Embeddable dynamic metadata: as you type, metadata is generated in the background. This metadata can be accessed and embedded directly into the page.
j0ncc
- startupShut down2025
Launch HN: Hypercubic (YC F25) – AI for COBOL and Mainframes
Hi HN, we’re Sai and Aayush and we’re building Hypercubic ( https://www.hypercubic.ai/ )! Hypercubic is an AI platform that helps Fortune 500 companies understand, preserve, and modernize their mainframe systems. These are the systems that run COBOL from the 1960s that still quietly power banking, insurance, airlines, and governments today. 70% of the Fortune 500 still run on mainframes, but the engineers who built and maintained them are retiring. Today, the average age of a COBOL/mainframe engineer is about 55 and rapidly increasing. What’s left behind are opaque, black box systems with almost no one who understands how they work. Modernization projects often fail, documentation is decades out of date, and critical institutional knowledge lives only in the minds of a few senior subject matter experts who are now leaving the workforce. Current “AI for code” tools foc
Why it failed: Hi HN, we’re Sai and Aayush and we’re building Hypercubic ( https://www.hypercubic.ai/ )! Hypercubic is an AI platform that helps Fortune 500 companies understand, preserve, and modernize their mainframe systems. These are the systems that run COBOL from the 1960s
sai18
- startupShut down2025
Launch HN: Cyberdesk (YC S25) – Automate Windows legacy desktop apps
Hi HN, We’re Mahmoud and Alan, building Cyberdesk ( https://www.cyberdesk.io/ ), a deterministic computer use agent for automating Windows desktop applications. Developers use us to automate repetitive tasks in legacy software in healthcare, accounting, construction, and more, by executing clicks and keystrokes directly into the desktop. Here’s a couple demos of Cyberdesk’s computer use agent: A fast file import automation into a legacy desktop app: https://youtu.be/H_lRzrCCN0E Working on a monster of a Windows monolith called OpenDental (showcases agent learning process as well): https://youtu.be/nXiJDebOJD0 . Filing a W-2 tax form: https://youtu.be/6VNEzHdc8mc Many industries are stuck with legacy Windows desktop applications, with staff plagued by repetitive tasks that are incredibly time consuming. Vendors offering automatio
Why it failed: Hi HN, We’re Mahmoud and Alan, building Cyberdesk ( https://www.cyberdesk.io/ ), a deterministic computer use agent for automating Windows desktop applications. Developers use us to automate repetitive tasks in legacy software in healthcare, accounting, constructio
mahmoud-almadi
- startupShut down2025
Is Product Search Broken? Why Are We Still Stuck with Ads and Fake Reviews?
Hi HN, I’ve been thinking a lot about how broken product search is today. You type in a query, and the first page is just ads, SEO-optimized blogs, or fake reviews. It feels like the system is designed to waste our time rather than help us. For example, I was searching for a decent pair of wireless headphones under $200. After an hour of scrolling through Google, Amazon, and forums, I found a thread on Reddit from 2019. Guess what? The recommended model was discontinued. This made me wonder: Why are we still stuck with ads and fake reviews? Why hasn’t anyone built a better solution? What would your ideal product search engine look like? I’ve been exploring some tools that claim to solve these issues, but I’m curious to hear how you handle it. Do you have any tips, tools, or tricks to share? Let’s discuss!
Why it failed: Hi HN, I’ve been thinking a lot about how broken product search is today. You type in a query, and the first page is just ads, SEO-optimized blogs, or fake reviews. It feels like the system is designed to waste our time rather than help us. For example, I was searching for a dece
nicola_alessi
- startupShut down2025
Claude Code weekly rate limits
Hi there, Next month, we're introducing new weekly rate limits for Claude subscribers, affecting less than 5% of users based on current usage patterns. Claude Code, especially as part of our subscription bundle, has seen unprecedented growth. At the same time, we’ve identified policy violations like account sharing and reselling access—and advanced usage patterns like running Claude 24/7 in the background—that are impacting system capacity for all. Our new rate limits address these issues and provide a more equitable experience for all users. What’s changing: Starting August 28, we're introducing weekly usage limits alongside our existing 5-hour limits: Current: Usage limit that resets every 5 hours (no change) New: Overall weekly limit that resets every 7 days New: Claude Opus 4 weekly limit that resets every 7 days As we learn more about how developers use Claude Code, w
Why it failed: Hi there, Next month, we're introducing new weekly rate limits for Claude subscribers, affecting less than 5% of users based on current usage patterns. Claude Code, especially as part of our subscription bundle, has seen unprecedented growth. At the same time, we’ve identifi
thebestmoshe
- startupShut down2025
Claude Code new limits – Important updates to your Max account usage limits
Hi there, Next month, we're introducing new weekly rate limits for Claude subscribers, affecting less than 5% of users based on current usage patterns. Claude Code, especially as part of our subscription bundle, has seen unprecedented growth. At the same time, we’ve identified policy violations like account sharing and reselling access—and advanced usage patterns like running Claude 24/7 in the background—that are impacting system capacity for all. Our new rate limits address these issues and provide a more equitable experience for all users. What’s changing: Starting August 28, we're introducing weekly usage limits alongside our existing 5-hour limits: Current: Usage limit that resets every 5 hours (no change) New: Overall weekly limit that resets every 7 days New: Claude Opus 4 weekly limit that resets every 7 days As we learn more about how developers use Claude Code, w
Why it failed: Hi there, Next month, we're introducing new weekly rate limits for Claude subscribers, affecting less than 5% of users based on current usage patterns. Claude Code, especially as part of our subscription bundle, has seen unprecedented growth. At the same time, we’ve identifi
ivanvas
- startupShut down2025
Ask HN: To LinkedIn am I just collateral damage of a barely functioning system
I have been on linked in for almost as long as I have been in tech. My current account has been in use since at least 2017. On Sunday, shortly after creating a new ad campaign, using the free ads credit provided by LinkedIn, I was refreshing the browser to see how the ads was progressing. Suddenly, I was logged out of my account, to verify my identity. I have taken a live picture, as instructed by the app, and also uploaded a scanned copy of my original national ID card. I have used my ID card for every form of verification I have encountered and never had a single problem. My ID is valid and my picture is what's on my LinkedIn profile. Despite all this, the LinkedIn identity verification page kept telling me "Couldn't verify photos". I have contacted the LinkedIn support team. There has literally been 14 messages back and forth, and all I have gotten every single tim
Why it failed: I have been on linked in for almost as long as I have been in tech. My current account has been in use since at least 2017. On Sunday, shortly after creating a new ad campaign, using the free ads credit provided by LinkedIn, I was refreshing the browser to see how the ads was pro
qbqetell
- startupShut down2025
Hemp ban hidden inside government shutdown bill
https://web.archive.org/web/20251113164403/https://hightimes...
Why it failed: https://web.archive.org/web/20251113164403/https://hightimes...
bilsbie
- startupShut down2025
CTO / cofounder exit deal after 1.5y at 600k revenue without SHA
I co-founded a deeptech company in France 1.5 years ago with another founder. We both invested €30k initially. My co-founder, who has a business background and is CEO, owns 51% of the shares and has 2/3 of the voting rights, while I own 49% of the shares and hold 1/3 of the voting rights. I have a PhD in AI and serve as the CTO. We pay ourselves modest wages and currently employ three full-time staff, all of whom I recruited and manage. The company generated €600k in revenue over the first 18 months through tenders and research services. There’s also potential for a €1.3m grant to be awarded in Q2 this year. Even though the company is doing well, I’ve decided to exit the company end of March for personal reasons: A breakdown in cofounder relationship, I can’t commit to relocating to France (I’m commuting from abroad), and I’m not happy with the recent pivot to the defence secto
Why it failed: I co-founded a deeptech company in France 1.5 years ago with another founder. We both invested €30k initially. My co-founder, who has a business background and is CEO, owns 51% of the shares and has 2/3 of the voting rights, while I own 49% of the shares and hold 1/3 of
biphasic
- startupShut down2025
Ask HN: Not treated respectfully by colleague – advice?
I work with a competent jerk: https://www.pickardlaws.com/myleadership/myfiles/rtdocs/hbr/... Backstory -- I joined my current team a year ago. It was falling apart. The team members hated each other and were trying to get each other fired. The team lead who’d joined a quarter before had quit to join another team largely due to conflict with one difficult coworker. Then I joined as the lead. I helped to stabilize the team over the last year. It’s grown from four to ten engineers. Three engineers joined specifically to work with me. Yet the entire time I’ve been on that team, that one difficult coworker has been criticizing and fighting almost everything I’ve done. That coworker was relatively inexperienced, yet was told by a previous director that he was meant to be the lead of this platform. Hence the fighting with the other lead from a year ago. And w
Why it failed: I work with a competent jerk: https://www.pickardlaws.com/myleadership/myfiles/rtdocs/hbr/... Backstory -- I joined my current team a year ago. It was falling apart. The team members hated each other and were trying to get each other fired. The
golly_ned
- startupShut down2025
Ask HN: How will the OSA affect small Mastodon instances?
I am not currently a user of Mastodon, but I have some interest in the project. I was looking at some stuff that seemed to indicate to me that the OSA could make it difficult to self host Mastodon without providing age verification. I was then reading the provisions and realsised that it didn't really affect you unless you have at least 3 million monthly users, so in theory would not affect self hosters with only a few users. But then I thought that if you are federated with a very large instance then your users could potentially be able to interact with enough users to fall under the provisions. This could potentially be a grey area that could expose self hosters to considerable risk if they are not careful. I wonder if there any UK based Mastodon hosters out there who are considering this. Are you considering shutting down to prevent any liability? Could this be the "death&qu
Why it failed: I am not currently a user of Mastodon, but I have some interest in the project. I was looking at some stuff that seemed to indicate to me that the OSA could make it difficult to self host Mastodon without providing age verification. I was then reading the provisions and realsised
Digit-Al
- startupShut down2025
Ask HN: If I am so smart, why I am not rich?
I grew up very modestly, borderline poverty. None of my extended family/friend went to college, I was the first one to graduate from college later in life. I was always a good student A- since it didn't come easy but I was eager and motivated to put the time and work to achieve. When I was 18 with a few buddies we started a "fun" business and it was mildly successful. When I tried to start another business everyone told me that I needed an education (college). Fast forward a couple of decades I have my BS and MBA,with a decent career in high tech (operations). Through the years I have started a few projects and they all failed (my bad), at the same time I have been working for entrepreneurs who are able to make a pretty good living with mediocre ideas and bad management. I am now at a point in my career where I have the time and some funds to start something, but I am
Why it failed: I grew up very modestly, borderline poverty. None of my extended family/friend went to college, I was the first one to graduate from college later in life. I was always a good student A- since it didn't come easy but I was eager and motivated to put the time and work to
LeoDTO
- startupShut down2025
Show HN: Workout.cool – Open-source fitness coaching platform
I was the main contributor to workout.lol, an open-source fitness app to easily build a workout routine. The project had traction (1.4k GitHub stars, 95 forks, ~20K visits/month), but was eventually sold due to video licensing hurdles. The new owner stopped maintaining it, and the repo went abandoned. Over the next 9 months, I sent 15 emails to try to save it : no replies. Feature requests & issues were ignored. The community was left with a "broken" tool let's say. I couldn't just let it die So I built the new version from scratch with the same open-source spirit, but a better architecture long-term vision, more features and no license problems. It's called : Workout.cool ( https://workout.cool ). What it offers: 100% open-source, MIT-licensed - 1200+ exercises (with videos, attributes, translations) - Progress tracking - Multilingual-ready -
Why it failed: I was the main contributor to workout.lol, an open-source fitness app to easily build a workout routine. The project had traction (1.4k GitHub stars, 95 forks, ~20K visits/month), but was eventually sold due to video licensing hurdles. The new owner stopped maintaining it, a
surgomat
- startupShut down2025
Ask HN: Did anyone else notice that the OpenAI Labs website was completely gone?
I was sad to discover today that all of my Dall-E image generations are gone, along with the entire https://labs.openai.com/ site. Apparently, some users received emails earlier in the year when it was about to be taken down, but I didn't. There were quite a few images in my history that I would have liked to have saved. Maybe worse is how much this lowers my trust in OpenAI even further than it already had been. Dall-E was not a small platform; it was a cultural phenomenon accessed by hundreds of millions of users. It's bewildering that OpenAI would so silently "take it behind the shed." I'm searching, and it doesn't seem as if there was even an HN post about the shutdown. So, it didn't even hit this place's radar. How many of you are hearing this for the first time? I don't understand how a company like OpenAI could be so reck
Why it failed: I was sad to discover today that all of my Dall-E image generations are gone, along with the entire https://labs.openai.com/ site. Apparently, some users received emails earlier in the year when it was about to be taken down, but I didn't. There were quite a f
underlipton