Kodak Built the First Digital Camera. So Why Did It Go Bankrupt?

In 1975, a Kodak engineer built the first digital camera. In 2012, Kodak filed for bankruptcy. This is the story of how the company that saw the digital future first still lost it: from George Eastman's $1 Brownie and the film empire it built, to EasyShare, smartphones, Chapter 11 and the much smaller Kodak of today. Chapters: 0:00 Intro: Cold Open 0:22 You Press the Button 1:40 The Yellow Box Empire 2:41 1975: The Toaster That Took Pictures 4:09 Kodak Did Go Digital 5:23 The Collapse 7:19 After the Fall, and the Real Lesson Key sources: • Eastman Kodak — Form 10-K for 1996 (SEC): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/00... • Eastman Kodak — Form 10-K for 2005 (SEC): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/31... • Eastman Kodak — Form 10-K for 2011 (SEC): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/31... • Eastman Kodak — Form 10-K for 2012 (SEC): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/31... • Eastman Kodak — Form 10-K for 2025 (SEC): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/31... • Eastman Kodak — Form 8-K, Sterling Winthrop divestitures, 1994 (SEC): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/00... • Kodak — Company milestones: https://www.kodak.com/en/company/page/mile... • Kodak — George Eastman history: https://www.kodak.com/en/company/page/geor... • George Eastman Museum — Two rare rolls of early Kodak film acquired, July 11, 2016: https://eastman.org/two-rare-rolls-early-k... • IEEE Spectrum — September 1888: George Eastman patents his Kodak camera, 2018: https://spectrum.ieee.org/september-1888-g... 28 more sources in the pinned comment. Charts: drawn by us from Eastman Kodak Form 10-K filings (SEC), as reported; IDC via AP (2006) and IDG News Service (2007); Kodak milestones; AP 2005; Kodak 10-K filings (SEC); AFP 2013 Images (Wikimedia Commons): • Bertrand Labévue, CC BY-SA 4.0: w.wiki/exPC • Parzeus, CC BY 4.0: w.wiki/exPD • 多多123, CC BY 4.0: w.wiki/exPM • Carl Purcell, CC BY-SA 3.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=28362047 • Thistle33, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=54408094 • Steve Morgan, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=49211600 • R. Henrik Nilsson, CC BY 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=159246990 • Thistle33, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=54400893 • pony rojo, CC BY-SA 2.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=148833428 • Mark A. Lackey from Baltimore, MD, USA, CC BY 2.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=18931780 • Phillip Pessar, CC BY 2.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=164137114 • Goose Green Photography, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=153529112 • Aljawad, CC BY 3.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=12011985 • Luxhunter68, CC BY-SA 3.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=9448168 • Larry, CC BY-SA 3.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=30770108 • NIAID, CC BY 2.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=62117173 • KAPcooney, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=128995971 • KAPcooney, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=144781895 • Geni, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=180420490 • Georges Seguin (Okki), CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=57639392 • JJ Harrison, CC BY-SA 3.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=21079235 • Greyfiveys, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=125307206 • Chawmpi, CC BY-SA 3.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=9863728 • Willwongprd, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=84263205 • Emran Kassim, CC BY 2.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=54328896 • Terri Monahan from Wellington, FL, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=89557254 • Sgroey, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=117480090 • ArnoldReinhold, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=69603042 • Marc Merlin, CC BY-SA 4.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=178895537 • The Conmunity - Pop Culture Geek from Lo, CC BY 2.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=33399416 • Shavar Ross, CC BY 2.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=28062154 • Frédéric BISSON, CC BY 2.0: commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=37676798 • Public domain / CC0: w.wiki/exPE w.wiki/exPF w.wiki/exPH w.wiki/exPJ w.wiki/exPL w.wiki/exPN w.wiki/exPP commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=80279194 commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=99450908 commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=56259097 commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=105678722 commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=180976060 commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=73774259 Music: original. Narration: synthetic voice. #Kodak #Business #Technology