An Uber JUMP on-demand dockless electric bike is pictured at Piccadilly Circus on June 01, 2019 in London, England.John Keeble/Getty Images
- Uber bought the electric bike startup Jump in 2018 for $200 million.
- The company's red, shiny e-bike technology had an edge over its competitors, promising ease of use and convenience.
- A recent Vice report details how just two years at Uber sent the company and its electric bike on a downward spiral.
- Former employees told Business Insider that Uber's New Mobility unit and its leaders lacked bike-share experience, including then-head Rachel Holt.
- "They put Rachel Holt in and she had no idea how to run a hardware company," one former employee told Business Insider. "Most say that she ran it into the ground."
The Jump bike was bred out of a vision to make bicycles more accessible to everyone as an alternative to the car.
The company's electric bike design was an impressive piece of tech — it ran smoothly, and the bikes were convenient and more user-friendly since they didn't have to be docked in designated stations.
Jump only spent two years of its 10-year lifespan at Uber. But according to a report from Vice's Aaron Gordon on Tuesday, that was enough to spell its downfall.
The Jump bike's creator and other founding team members left Uber in January, while most of Jump's employees were laid off when Uber sold Jump to rival Lime. Shortly after, footage surfaced of tens of thousands of the red-colored machines being disposed of.
Here's how the Jump bike went from being the brainchild of a reportedly scrappy, spirited, and mission-driven company to ending up being scrapped for parts two years after Uber bought it for $200 million in 2018.