Marissa Mayer’s Sunshine Startup Shuts Down, Assets Transfer to New Venture Dazzle AI
Key Points
- Sunshine, founded by Marissa Mayer in 2018, is shutting down.
- Assets will be sold to Dazzle AI, a newly incorporated company.
- An email to shareholders on September 17 reported 99% approval of the deal.
- Mayer is the largest shareholder and investor in Sunshine.
- Approximately 15 employees are expected to transition to Dazzle.
- Sunshine’s product line included the Sunshine Contacts app (2020) and the Shine photo‑sharing app (2024).
- The company raised $20 million in venture capital before the shutdown.
- Mayer’s background includes leadership roles at Yahoo and early product work at Google.
Sunshine, the consumer AI startup founded by former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, is closing its doors and selling its assets to a newly incorporated company called Dazzle AI. An email to shareholders on September 17 indicated that 99 percent of shareholders have signed off on the deal. Mayer, the largest shareholder, said the move will allow the roughly 15‑person team to transition to Dazzle. The shutdown follows a mixed product history that included the Sunshine Contacts app and the later Shine photo‑sharing service.
Background and Formation
Sunshine began as Lumi Labs in 2018, created by Marissa Mayer after her five‑year effort to turn around Yahoo. Prior to Yahoo, Mayer was an early Google employee, credited with designing the interface for Google Search and contributing to Google Maps and Google AdWords. The startup aimed to apply consumer AI to everyday tools.
Product Track Record
The first offering, Sunshine Contacts, launched in 2020. The app used AI to merge duplicate contacts and added address data from external sources, drawing privacy concerns. By that time, the company had raised $20 million in venture capital, supplemented by Mayer’s personal investment. In 2024, Sunshine introduced a photo‑sharing app called Shine, which was widely viewed as a flop.
Shutdown and Asset Sale
On September 17, Mayer sent an email to Sunshine shareholders announcing that the company would dissolve and its assets would be sold to Dazzle AI, a new entity already incorporated and backed by committed funding. The email noted that 99 percent of shareholders, including co‑founder Enrique Muñoz Torres and several venture firms, had signed the approval documents.
“After careful consideration, Sunshine’s management, and 99.99% of its shareholders, determined the strongest path forward for the company was to sell to Dazzle AI, a new company already incorporated and with committed funding,” Mayer said through a spokesperson. “As Sunshine’s largest investor, shareholder, and CEO, Marissa is proud of what the team built and looks forward to carrying that momentum into new opportunities around Dazzle.”
Mayer is the company’s largest shareholder and investor. The roughly 15‑person team is expected to transition to Dazzle, where they will seek new roles.
Future Outlook
While Sunshine’s specific products are being retired, the move to Dazzle AI suggests Mayer intends to continue pursuing AI‑driven consumer experiences, potentially in the form of a new personal assistant platform. The transition reflects a strategic shift rather than an end to Mayer’s involvement in consumer AI.