Kodak’s $30B Mistake: Why They Destroyed Their Own Invention

Описание: Kodak: The $30B Mistake – They Invented Digital Photography and Still Failed

Kodak invented the world's first digital camera in 1975, held the patents, and had a 20-year head start on every competitor. Yet by 2012, the photography giant that once controlled 90% of U.S. film sales filed for bankruptcy, watching $30 billion in market value vanish. This is the story of how the innovator's dilemma, fear of cannibalization, and cultural paralysis turned innovation into self-destruction.

Numbers:
Peak market capitalization: ~$30 billion (mid-1990s)
Peak revenue: ~$20 billion (mid-1990s)
U.S. film market share: 90% (1976)
U.S. camera market share: 85% (1976)
Rochester workforce: 60,000+ employees (peak)
First digital camera: 1975 (8 pounds, 0.01 megapixels, 23 seconds per photo)
Jobs cut 2003–2012: 47,000
Global photos in 2000: 80 billion (99% film)
Global photos in 2012: 380 billion (3% film)
Bankruptcy filing: January 19, 2012

Chronology:
1888: George Eastman launches Kodak with "You press the button, we do the rest"
1975: Steve Sasson invents the digital camera at Kodak
1976: Kodak controls 90% of film sales, 85% of camera sales in U.S.
1980s–1990s: Digital technology patented but buried to protect film profits
Late 1990s: Competitors (Sony, Canon, Nikon) commercialize digital cameras
2001: Kodak acquires Ofoto but strategy still tied to printing/film
2010: Instagram launches; smartphone photography explodes
2012: Kodak files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
2013: Emerges as smaller commercial imaging company

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