The AI funding frenzy took another bizarre turn with Halter's AI cow collar system, which offers app-based herding-as-a-service at $5 to $8 per cow monthly. The New Zealand startup represents the latest in a long line of questionable tech investments that have defined the venture capital landscape since the pandemic.

Financial Times contributor Lorcan Roche Kelly, a farmer and Business Editor at the Irish Farmers' Journal, provided industry context on the dairy tech sector's norms. His analysis triggered broader discussions about where such AI-powered livestock management fits within the pantheon of spectacularly misguided venture bets. The conversation naturally drifted to infamous failures like Juicero, the $400 internet-of-things juicer that consumed approximately $120 million in investor capital before becoming a Museum of Failure exhibit.

Other notable flameouts include Wag, the dog walking app that raised $300 million from SoftBank before bankruptcy, and Zume, Quibi, and MoviePass. The article explicitly excludes WeWork from consideration, despite its tequila-fueled collapse, as it was essentially recreating Prologis with excessive hype. The piece invites readers to nominate their favorite demented VC failures, with voting to determine a definitive list of the worst investments ever made.