The 2000–2002 crash in technology shares after the late-1990s internet boom was the dot-com crash.
During the dot-com bubble, investors drove up the prices of internet and technology companies, including many businesses with little revenue or no profits. The Nasdaq Composite peaked at 5,048.62 on March 10, 2000. As expectations became less realistic and interest rates rose, technology shares began a prolonged decline.
The Nasdaq eventually lost about 78% of its value from its peak to its October 2002 low. Many start-ups failed, while a smaller group of companies with viable business models survived and later became major firms. The crash did not mean the internet itself was a failed technology; it showed that useful innovations can still be surrounded by unsustainable investment valuations.