Kodak Shipped 100 Million Digital Cameras. Then It Went Bankrupt

Kodak patented the digital camera in 1978, shipped its 100 millionth digital camera in 2011 and filed for bankruptcy in January 2012. Its own filings show how all three happened. A historical documentary built from public records. Not investment analysis or financial advice. In this episode: Steven Sasson's eight-pound prototype of December 1975; U.S. Patent 4,131,919, granted in 1978 with two inventors, Gareth A. Lloyd and Steven J. Sasson; film from the Brownie to Kodachrome; Sterling Drug, bought in 1988 and sold off by 1994; the DCS, the DC40 and the DC120; the top share of U.S. digital camera sales in the fourth quarter of 2003; 2005, the first year digital passed half of revenue, and a $1.371 billion net loss; Willy Shih's case that the popular version is wrong, and the record on the other side; the image sensor business sold in 2011; Chapter 11 on January 19, 2012, and the exit from cameras; the patent sale of about $525 million, with Apple, Google and Fujifilm among the licensees; the UK pension plan; the emergence of September 2013; and the company of about 3,500 people that remains. We kept the documented apart from the retold. Figures come from Kodak's own 10-K and 8-K filings at the SEC, the invention from the U.S. patent record, the bankruptcy from the company's filings in case 12-10202. Each loss carries the cause Kodak gave: 1993 was mostly an accounting change, 2005 mostly a non-cash tax charge. The $2.8 billion UK pension figure is the trustee's claim, as Kodak reported it. Willy Shih ran Kodak's consumer digital business and is quoted as such. A famous 1975 remark attributed to a Kodak manager could not be verified and is not quoted. The "substantial doubt" about Kodak's ability to continue as a going concern is the company's own statement of August 11, 2025; we make no prediction. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Sources consulted: • U.S. Patent 4,131,919, "Electronic still camera" (1978), and U.S. Patent 388,850, George Eastman (1888) • Eastman Kodak 10-K annual reports for 1993, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012 and 2025, and XBRL financial data (SEC EDGAR) • Eastman Kodak 8-K filings and releases: Jan 30, 2006; Jan 19, Feb 9, Dec 19 and Dec 21, 2012; Apr 29, Aug 20 and Sep 3, 2013; Aug 11, 2025 • Kodak, Milestones (company page) • Willy Shih, "The Real Lessons From Kodak's Decline," MIT Sloan Management Review (May 2016) • Ben Dobbin, Associated Press, via NBC News (Sep 9, 2005) • Associated Press via CBS News (Jan 19, 2012) • National Inventors Hall of Fame, Steven Sasson • Steven Sasson, Kodak blog (2007), as quoted by PetaPixel (2010) Narration is AI-generated. Every quotation is attributed to the person and the outlet it comes from. Subscribe for more companies told through what they built, what they filed and why they fell anyway. Archival images (public domain): George Eastman, Bain News Service, c. 1915, Library of Congress; U.S. Patent 388,850, George Eastman (1888); Folding pocket camera advertisement, Outing magazine, 1900; U.S. Patent 4,131,919, "Electronic still camera" (1978). Some were cropped and upscaled. Other images are AI-generated illustrations. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:52 1881–1981. You Press the Button 03:54 1975–1978. Building Four 06:22 1977–1991. Granted and Published 08:24 1988–1994. The Drug Company 11:19 1995–2001. A Megapixel Under a Thousand Dollars 13:31 2003–2006. Top Spot, Fourth Quarter 16:25 2016. The Version That Is Wrong 18:48 2008–2012. Selling the Sensors 22:12 2012–2026. The Buyers #whathappenedtokodak #kodakbankruptcy #whydidkodakfail #kodakdigitalcamera #kodakchapter11 #kodakdownfall #kodakriseandfall #kodakdocumentary #eastmankodak #stevensasson Public-domain and CC BY images, plus AI-generated illustrations; credits below. AI narration. Figures come from company filings, court records and published interviews, cited in this description.