Worst SPACs of All Time
The complete ranked list of the most catastrophic SPAC deals in history. These 25 companies destroyed more combined value than the GDP of most countries.
Companies Ranked
25
Peak Value Destroyed
$94.8B
Avg Time to Failure
32 mo
How We Ranked the Worst SPACs
The 2020-2021 SPAC mania produced hundreds of disastrous deals, but some were far worse than others. We ranked the worst SPACs of all time by peak market capitalization destroyed — the difference between a company's highest valuation and its eventual bankruptcy or near-zero trading price. This metric captures both the scale of the fraud or mismanagement and the number of investors harmed.
What makes a SPAC the "worst"? It's not just about percentage losses — a tiny SPAC losing 99% might affect few people. The worst SPACs combined massive valuations, widespread retail investor participation, misleading projections, and in several cases, outright fraud. Many of these companies had zero revenue, no viable product, and business plans that existed only in PowerPoint presentations shown to investors who couldn't distinguish science fiction from reality.
The common thread? Every single one of these companies went public through a SPAC merger specifically because they couldn't survive the scrutiny of a traditional IPO. The SPAC structure allowed them to make forward-looking projections that would have been illegal in an S-1 filing, projecting billions in future revenue from products that didn't exist.
Nikola
NKLA · EV/Trucks · SPAC'd in 2020
Founder sentenced to 4 years, $125M SEC settlement, peak $28B valuation
56 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
WeWork
WE · Real Estate · SPAC'd in 2021
Largest SPAC bankruptcy
28 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Fisker
FSR · EV · SPAC'd in 2020
CEO previously bankrupted Fisker Automotive in 2013
44 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Hyliion
HYLN · EV/Trucks · SPAC'd in 2020
33 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
23andMe
ME · Biotech/Genomics · SPAC'd in 2021
Richard Branson SPAC, 15M customer DNA data at risk
45 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Embark Technology
EMBK · Autonomous · SPAC'd in 2021
18 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Lordstown Motors
RIDE · EV · SPAC'd in 2020
Overstated truck demand, Hindenburg target
33 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Proterra
PTRA · EV/Bus · SPAC'd in 2021
25 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Virgin Orbit
VORB · Space · SPAC'd in 2021
Richard Branson backed
16 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Bird Global
BRDS · Mobility · SPAC'd in 2021
$3.3M cash at filing
24 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Lion Electric
LEV · EV/Truck · SPAC'd in 2020
49 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Canoo
GOEV · EV · SPAC'd in 2020
Zero revenue at death
50 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Eos Energy
EOSE · Energy Storage · SPAC'd in 2020
34 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Volta
VLTA · EV Charging · SPAC'd in 2021
30 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Electric Last Mile Solutions
ELMS · EV · SPAC'd in 2021
Record fastest SPAC-to-bankruptcy
12 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Enjoy Technology
ENJY · Tech/Retail · SPAC'd in 2021
11 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
IronNet Cybersecurity
IRNT · Cybersecurity · SPAC'd in 2021
24 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
AppHarvest
APPH · AgTech · SPAC'd in 2021
Martha Stewart board member
24 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Fast Radius
FSRD · Manufacturing · SPAC'd in 2022
10 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Enovis (fka Colfax)
ENOV · Industrial · SPAC'd in 2021
14 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Landsea Homes
LSEA · Real Estate · SPAC'd in 2021
22 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Quanergy Systems
QNGY · Tech/LiDAR · SPAC'd in 2022
9 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Greenland Acquisition
GNLN · Cannabis · SPAC'd in 2019
42 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Near Intelligence
NIR · Software · SPAC'd in 2023
Less than 9 months public
9 months from SPAC merger to bankruptcy
Lessons From the Worst SPACs
The worst SPACs of all time share several common characteristics that investors can learn from. First, nearly every company on this list went public with little or no revenue, relying instead on projected future earnings that never materialized. Nikola, the worst offender, reached a $28 billion market cap despite having no working product — its famous demo truck was literally rolling downhill unpowered.
Second, the SPAC sponsors and insiders consistently sold their stakes before the crashes. The promote structure gave sponsors 20% of the company for essentially free, creating a massive incentive to complete any deal, regardless of quality. When your shares cost $25,000 and are worth $200 million at any positive stock price, you don't need to find a great company — you just need to find a willing one.
Third, the role of celebrity and media promotion cannot be overstated. Chamath Palihapitiya's media presence drove billions into SPACs. CNBC gave airtime to every SPAC CEO making outlandish projections. Social media amplified the hype through Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube, creating feedback loops that disconnected prices from any fundamental reality.
Finally, the worst SPACs reveal a structural problem: the SPAC merger process itself incentivizes bad deals. Sponsors have a two-year deadline to find a target or return money. As the deadline approaches, the pressure to do any deal intensifies. Combined with the ability to make forward-looking projections unavailable in traditional IPOs, SPACs became a mechanism for the worst companies to access public markets and the worst insiders to extract wealth from retail investors.