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$41 million can't buy success as Color app finally gives up (update: Color denies shutdown)

$41 million can't buy success as Color app finally gives up (update: Color denies shutdown)

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Color for Facebook Android
Color for Facebook Android

Color Labs, the Palo Alto-based company that received $41 million in venture capital last year to build a photo-sharing app, will soon shut its doors, according to VentureBeat. "The company’s shareholders and board last week voted to shut the company down," the site reports, after rumors swirled the last few weeks about CEO and Founder Bill Nguyen leaving the company. It's unclear what portion of the initial venture capital remains unspent.

After its first iteration confused users and was panned by critics, Color eventually pivoted to become a live video-broadcasting app. Though the technology inside the app was impressive, its capabilities were easily eclipse by Google and others, who found more exciting applications for live video streaming than Color ever did. The company most recently entered into a "multi-year" agreement with Verizon to bake the app into many of its phones with some exclusive features right out of the box.

Update: TechCrunch is now reporting that Color is not shutting down, according to a spokesperson who spoke on behalf of Color and its largest investor, Sequoia Capital, and according to "several sources close to Color."

A source close to Color confirmed to The Verge that they nor others they'd spoken with had heard about or received the email VentureBeat quoted this morning.

VentureBeat updated its article this afternoon to name Andrew Urushima, Color’s VP of Finance, as the sender of the email its source received.

Verizon Wireless and Color did not respond to questions for comment.