Sector Death Rate
Which industries had the highest SPAC disaster rate? This page ranks every sector by death rate — the percentage of SPACs that went bankrupt. Some industries were killing fields. Others had survivors.
Deadliest Sector
EV/Automotive
41.2% death rate
Safest Sector
Energy
0% failure rate
Avg Death Rate
8.9%
across all sectors
Total Sectors
15
with 5+ SPACs
Death Rate by Sector
Percentage of SPACs that went bankrupt in each sector. Worst at top.
Sector Composition
Breakdown of each sector: what percentage went bankrupt, became zombies, got delisted, or survived.
Capital Raised vs. Average Return
Which sectors burned the most money? X = total capital raised, Y = average return. Bigger bubbles = more SPACs.
Full Sector Rankings
| Sector | SPACs | Death Rate ↓ | Failure Rate | Avg Return | Capital Raised | Capital Destroyed | Worst SPAC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EV/Automotive | 34 | 41.2% | 97.1% | -90.8% | $15.2B | $10.0B | Proterra (-100%) |
| Real Estate | 9 | 33.3% | 100% | -85.7% | $3.6B | $2.4B | WeWork (-100%) |
| Industrials | 23 | 13% | 78.3% | -50.1% | $10.8B | $2.9B | Fast Radius (-100%) |
| Aerospace/Defense | 27 | 11.1% | 66.7% | 16.3% | $12.2B | $4.6B | Virgin Orbit (-100%) |
| Consumer | 23 | 8.7% | 73.9% | 238.7% | $7.2B | $2.9B | Enjoy Technology (-100%) |
| Technology | 118 | 8.5% | 73.7% | 14.4% | $56.4B | $10.1B | Near Intelligence (-100%) |
| Fintech | 13 | 7.7% | 76.9% | -58.3% | $4.9B | $1.3B | Metromile (-100%) |
| Clean Energy | 63 | 4.8% | 84.1% | -43.8% | $17.6B | $7.0B | Heliogen (-100%) |
| Healthcare | 110 | 3.6% | 84.5% | -24.8% | $28.6B | $11.4B | 23andMe (-100%) |
| Blank Check | 847 | 1.9% | 76% | -1.3% | $204.2B | $23.3B | iCoreConnect (-100%) |
| Media/Entertainment | 19 | 0% | 68.4% | -36.3% | $9.3B | $4.4B | Simplicity Esports & Gaming Co (-100%) |
| Financial Services | 11 | 0% | 36.4% | 215.4% | $7.7B | $1.5B | CDT Equity (-95.1%) |
| Emerging Markets | 8 | 0% | 100% | N/A | $1.1B | $359M | — |
| Social Impact | 9 | 0% | 100% | -99.6% | $2.9B | $342M | Prime Impact Acquisition I (-99.6%) |
| Energy | 5 | 0% | 0% | 139.9% | $13.7B | $0M | AleAnna (-45.4%) |
Methodology
Death Rate = Bankruptcies ÷ Total SPACs in sector × 100. Only counts companies that filed Chapter 7 or Chapter 11.
Failure Rate = (Bankruptcies + Zombies + Delisted) ÷ Total SPACs × 100. A broader measure including companies trading as zombies or removed from exchanges.
Sectors with fewer than 5 SPACs are excluded as not statistically meaningful. Capital figures are in millions (trust size at IPO).