O
21 companies
OPEC
Energy/Oil
Intergovernmental organization of oil-exporting nations formed in 1960 that demonstrates both coalition power and coalition fragility from defection t...
Ocado Group
Retail & Technology
Ocado is a technology-focused online grocery retailer and solutions provider. The company operates automated warehouses using robotics and AI for effi...
Occidental Petroleum
Oil & Gas
The largest Permian Basin acreage holder produces 800,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from the formation alone—territorial dominance enabling se...
Ogilvy & Mather
Advertising
One of the world's largest advertising firms, founded 1850 with modern form established by David Ogilvy in 1948. Ogilvy's philosophy emphasizes that e...
Okta
Identity Management
Okta provides identity and access management with first-mover advantage in cloud-native identity. Platform economics through integration network.
Ola (ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd.)
Mobility & Technology
Ola is India's largest ride-hailing platform, competing with Uber in the Indian market and expanding internationally. The company has diversified into...
Oldsmobile
Automotive
Oldsmobile's 2004 discontinuation ended the oldest American automotive brand after 106 years. The division that had pioneered automatic transmission a...
Olive AI
Healthcare Technology
Olive AI raised $900M at a $4B valuation to automate healthcare administration with AI, then laid off 75% of staff and sold assets in 2023. The compan...
Olympia Brewing Company
Beverages
Olympia Brewing's 1983 sale to Pabst ended Pacific Northwest brewing independence. 'It's the Water' positioning couldn't survive national competition....
Olympic Airways
Aviation
Olympic Airways' 2009 final closure after decades of Greek government support demonstrates how state airlines can become national embarrassments. Aris...
Olympus Corporation (2011 Scandal)
Electronics/Medical
Olympus's 2011 fraud revelation showed the camera maker had hidden $1.7 billion in investment losses for 20 years. CEO Michael Woodford was fired for...
One Kings Lane
E-commerce
One Kings Lane's 2016 sale to Bed Bath & Beyond for under $30 million collapsed a home goods flash sale site once valued at $900 million. The company...
Open Road Films
Entertainment
Open Road's 2018 bankruptcy despite Oscar winner 'Spotlight' demonstrates how theatrical distribution faces structural decline. The independent distri...
OpenAI
Artificial Intelligence
OpenAI demonstrates that Pacific Salmon strategy - grow at all costs, die trying - is correct in exactly 20% of situations. During the AI boom (2023-p...
Opendoor
Real Estate - iBuyer
Opendoor sold 13,593 homes in 2024 generating $5.2 billion revenue, down 26% year-over-year as higher mortgage rates froze the U.S. housing market. Th...
Opendoor (Decline)
Real Estate
Opendoor pioneered iBuying—using algorithms to instantly buy and resell homes. The company lost $1.4 billion in 2022 when housing prices fell faster t...
Oracle
Enterprise Software
Oracle's origin story reveals the power of competitive exclusion through early colonization. In 1977, Larry Ellison read Edgar Codd's papers on relati...
Orange
Telecommunications
Orange generated €40.3 billion revenue in 2024 serving 260 million customers across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, operating physical fiber and...
Oscar Health
Health Insurance
Technology-focused health insurance company using data science and telemedicine to improve member experience. Offers individual and small group health...
Outbox
Consumer Services
Outbox raised $5M to digitize physical mail—employees would open your mail, scan it, and send you PDFs. The USPS refused to cooperate, requiring Outbo...
Outdoor Voices (Restructured)
Apparel
Outdoor Voices raised $110M to be 'the next great activewear brand' but couldn't achieve profitability as marketing costs exceeded gross profit. Found...