- French insect farming startup Ÿnsect, once boosted by Robert Downey Jr.'s endorsement, has entered judicial liquidation (bankruptcy) after failing to achieve its ambitious goals.
- The company struggled with a confused business strategy, attempting to serve animal feed, human food, and pet food markets while failing to establish sustainable revenue and relying on costly, unproven factory-scale production (Ÿnfarm).
- Ÿnsect's failure highlights a broader European issue of struggling to scale up industrial startups, showcasing a gap between funding "moonshots" and properly industrializing and manufacturing.

A: Did you hear about that insect farm company? Ÿnsect?
B: No, what happened? Was there a bug infestation? Haha!
A: It's more serious than that! They're going bankrupt. Like, judicial liquidation.
B: Wow, really? I remember Robert Downey Jr. talking about them! During the Super Bowl!
A: Yeah, crazy, right? They raised over $600 million! But they just couldn't make it work.
B: That’s a lot of money. What went wrong?
A: It wasn’t really about people being squeamish about eating bugs. They mainly wanted to make protein for animal feed and pet food. But they couldn’t decide which market to focus on!
B: So, they bought another company to try to do human food?
A: Exactly! But that wasn’t making much money, so it was like, a distraction. And their revenue was pretty low to begin with.
B: So, how could they raise so much money then?
A: Investors believed in their plan to offer a sustainable alternative to fishmeal and soy.
B: But animal feed is all about price, right?
A: Yep! Insect protein just ended up being an expensive extra step.
B: That’s a bummer. Did they ever turn things around?
A: They tried to focus on pet food later, which is better because people aren’t as price-sensitive. But it was too late.
B: What happened then?
A: They built this huge factory – they called it a “giga-factory.” It cost a ton of money.
B: That sounds really expensive!
A: It was! They spent all that money before they even knew if their business model would work.
B: So, what’s the takeaway?
A: It's a warning about scaling up businesses in Europe. They're good at getting ideas, but not so good at actually building factories and industrializing.
B: That’s a shame. Hopefully, other companies can learn from their mistakes.