Cyanogen OS is shutting down at year-end

A couple of years ago Android mod Cyanogen wanted to make a big splash in the operating system market and received millions in venture capital to make this come true.

The company wanted to not only expand its forked versions of Android but also hoped to create a new mobile operating system. At the time, former CEO Kirt McMaster openly laid out his vision to "put a bulled through Google's head" and replace Android with something better.

That dream is dead now as TechCrunch reports Cyanogen has laid off staff and is shutting down its services and nightly software builds on December 31. Devices running the Cyanogen OS, like the OnePlus One, need to transition to the CyanogenMod ROM, a non-commercial product managed by a community of developers led by former co-founder Steve Klondik. Rather than trying to kill Android, Cyanogen will now adapt to live in Google's world:

This essentially marks the end of Cyanogen’s grand ambition. Outspoken former CEO Kirt McMaster once claimed his company was “putting a bullet through Google’s head,” but now it is transitioning to a different approach that new CEO Lior Tal believes will be more attractive to OEMs.

Tal, who was previously Cyanogen COO, described the new Cyanogen Modular OS program as “designed to achieve the original objective of an open and smarter Android without the limitations of requiring the full Cyanogen OS stack and individual device bring-ups.”

The Cyanogen name will likely be sold so the fork will on as Lineage OS.