Mark Cuban Bids Farewell To 'Shark Tank': How To Watch Finale And What's Next For Hit Show

After more than a dozen seasons on the hit reality investing pitching show "Shark Tank," investor Mark Cuban is saying farewell with Season 16's finale Friday night.

Here's a look back at Cuban's time on "Shark Tank" and a look at what comes next for the investor and the show.

‘Shark Tank' Finale: Cuban announced his exit from "Shark Tank" in November 2023. Over a year later, his final episode has arrived.

"My last @ABCSharkTank is this Friday. Gonna miss it. But it was time to move on. Make sure to watch!" Cuban tweeted.

The Season 16 finale airs at 8 p.m. ET Friday May 16 on ABC, which is a unit of The Walt Disney Company DIS. The show is produced by Amazon.com Inc AMZN -owned MGM Television in association with Sony Group Corp SONY unit Sony Pictures Television.

Cuban joined the show as a guest shark in season 2 before becoming a regular cast member in season 3.

“It’s not being on TV that’s made it special. It’s sending a message to everybody that watches that the American dream is alive and well,” Cuban said on the “Life in Seven Songs” podcast.

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‘Shark Tank Success': At the time of his announced departure, a report said Cuban had invested over $20 million in at least 85 companies during his years on the show.

Cuban has made several winning deals, including investments in companies like Dude Wipes, BeatBox Beverages, Tower Paddle Boards, and Nuts ‘N More.

The entrepreneur has also missed out on some investments that went on to be worth significantly more including skipping an investment in Mother Beverage, a company that went on to change its name to poppi and was acquired by PepsiCo for $1.9 billion.

In a 2022 interview, Cuban revealed he has not made back the millions he has invested in companies from "Shark Tank."

“What I said was on a cash basis for my Shark Tank companies, I hadn’t taken in more than I put out. On a market to market basis, which most VCs (venture capital) use, I’m doing great,” Cuban tweeted.

During the interview on "Full Send Podcast," Cuban shared the memory of his worst investment from "Shark Tank."

In 2013, Cuban and four other Sharks invested in a company called Breathometer, which was pitched as “the world’s first smartphone breathalyzer.”

The pitch by Charles Michael Yim was the first in Shark Tank history to land investments from all five Sharks on the show. The five Sharks, including Cuban, invested a combined $1 million for a 30% stake in the company. Yim said Cuban invested $500,000 of the $1 million total, more than the other Sharks.

Cuban said he would text Yim and ask why he wasn’t working and get a response that he was networking. Eventually, the money the Sharks invested was gone and Yim transitioned away from the Breathometer and worked on Mint, a product that detects bad breath.

“It was a great product. But, the guy – Charles – I’d look at his Instagram and he’d be in Bora Bora,” Cuban said of Yim. “Two weeks later, he’d be in (Las) Vegas partying, and then he’d be on Necker Island with Richard Branson.”

“That was my biggest beating,” Cuban said.

Speaking with Benzinga, Cuban shared one of his most unexpected success stories from Shark Tank. When questioned about which Shark Tank investment yielded the most surprising return, Cuban responded, “Cycloramic had to pivot to computer vision. They did, and we killed it when we sold it to Carvana.”

Cycloramic was featured on season 5 of Shark Tank with Bruno Francois looking for $90,000 for 5% of his company that used an iPhone to take a 3D panoramic photo. When the company was pitched, Cycloramic was selling its app for 99 cents on the Apple iTunes store and had over $175,000 in sales.

The pitch attracted offers from Lori Greiner, Cuban, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary and guest shark Steve Tisch.

Cuban offered $1 million for 30% of the company and was countered by Francois with a pitch of partnering with Greiner for $500,000 for 15% of the company. Cuban and Greiner agreed to the deal.

Downloads of the app hit 8 million in the week after the company aired on Shark Tank. Francois also created Selfie 360 and Car 360, two new products that expanded the reach of the company. The success of Car 360 and its ability to create interactive 360 degree images for car sales sites led to a buyout by Carvana Co CVNA for $22 million in 2018.

What's Next For Cuban: The entrepreneur and investor has signaled that he is exiting "Shark Tank" to spend more time with his family.

The announcement and move away from the show also comes after Cuban recently sold his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks, an NBA team.

While Cuban is no longer the majority owner of the Mavericks, a new report suggests he could be spending more of his time away from "Shark Tank" looking to make sports deals.

Cuban is set to be a general partner of Harbinger Sports Partners Fund, a new sports-focused private equity fund, as reported by Sportico. Harbinger is looking to raise $750 million by 2027 to invest in minority stakes in MLB, NBA and NFL sports teams. The group wants to make around 15 investments worth $50 to $150 million to acquire up to 5% stakes in teams, as sports leagues have changed rules to allow small private equity investments.

What's Next For ‘Shark Tank': The hit reality show could have its hands full after seeing Cuban exit. A Benzinga survey showed that Cuban ranked as the most popular judge on the show with 40% of the vote. Cuban also tied as the least favorite shark with O'Leary in another Benzinga poll.

This means that people who watch “Shark Tank” likely love Cuban or hate him. O’Leary received a similar love/hate rating in the polls ranking as the second favorite shark and tied as the least favorite shark.

Fans of “Shark Tank” will likely miss Cuban’s appearance on the series moving forward.

The outspoken billionaire often battled with other sharks for deals and tried to get answers from entrepreneurs quickly before they heard offers from the other sharks. On occasion, Cuban teamed up with other sharks for deals.

Another Benzinga poll asked readers about their favorite part of “Shark Tank.” The winning answer was "the pitch and hearing the entrepreneur's backstory" at 40%, beating out "the battle between the sharks," which received 21% of the vote.

This means that the show could see success after Cuban with viewers likely tuning in more to hear about the products and company founders than seeing the sharks battle.

Kind Snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky, who has been a guest shark in seasons 11 to 15 was announced as a regular shark for Season 16.

Lubetzky is expected to be a shark again on Season 17, which has no release date, but has been confirmed for ABC in the fall with a move to Wednesdays instead of Fridays.

“Shark Tank” executive director Clay Newbill said Lubetzky is not a direct replacement for Cuban though.

“Personally, I don’t think that you can replace Mark Cuban. He’s a force on the show,” Newbill said.

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