The precarious path of e-cig startup Juul: From Silicon Valley darling to $38 billion behemoth under criminal investigation

• The e-cigarette company Juul, which won an investment from the tobacco giant Altria at a $38 billion valuation, faces an uncertain future.
• Analysts have credited Juul with single-handedly resurrecting the slumping e-cigarette market.
• But Juul is confronting challenges that include warnings from national regulators, investigations by members of Congress, state- and country-wide bans, and questions about its products’ long-term health impacts.
• Juul’s roots are in Silicon Valley, where it started as a tiny company called Ploom.
• Over time, Juul has attracted attention from an array of nontraditional investors, including a marijuana therapeutics company and several hedge funds. One investor quietly pulled out on an undisclosed date.
• Read on to see the full timeline of the rise of Juul into the US’s dominant e-cigarette company.
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The e-cigarette company Juul faces an uncertain future. 

The $38 billion company has staked a precarious path into the limelight, starting as a glitzy gadget and eventually billing itself as something resembling a public-health tool.

A decade after launching its original devices, called the Ploom, with a party in San Francisco’s trendy Mission District, the company landed a $12.8 billion investment from the Marlboro maker, Altria.

In between, the company rebranded three times, hosted another launch party in New York City, sold some of its assets to Japan Tobacco International, and attracted a series of nontraditional backers including a marijuana therapeutics company and several hedge funds. 

Now, Juul faces challenges that include a warning from the US Food and Drug Administration, investigations by members of Congress, and several state- and country-wide bans, as well as renewed questions about its products’ long-term health impacts.

On Sept. 25, the company said Kevin Burns would step down as CEO, and that tobacco executive K.C. Crosthwaite would take over. Amid the scrutiny, Juul said it would suspend US advertising and halt some lobbying efforts.

“I have long believed in a future where adult smokers overwhelmingly choose alternative products like Juul,” Crosthwaite, a former top executive at Marlboro-maker Altria, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, today that future is at risk due to unacceptable levels of youth usage and eroding public confidence in our industry.”

Scroll down to see Juul’s rise from Silicon Valley darling to $38 billion behemoth to facing dozens of bans and investigations.