Vice Media, once a digital media darling, is bankrupt

Vice Media, once a digital video upstart formerly valued at nearly $6 billion, on Monday filed for bankruptcy protection.

Vice launched in Montreal, Canada, in 1994 as a free magazine focused on alternative music and culture. Backed by money from other media companies as well as blue-chip Silicon Valley investors, the company eventually branched into online video and documentaries catering to millennials. 

Vice moved its headquarters to New York City and grew so quickly that co-founder Shane Smith once quipped that the company would use its ample funding to pursue “total media domination.”

According to its Chapter 11 filing, Vice has assets and liabilities ranging from $500 million to $1 billion.

Vice is the second digital news venture to go bust in recent weeks. In April BuzzFeed moved to pull the plug on its news operation and laid off 180 workers amid a sharp drop in the company’s growth.

This is a developing story.