A Microsoft-backed AI company worth $1.5 billion has collapsed. Its AI was, in fact, 700 human engineers.
A British tech startup once hailed as an AI trailblazer has crumbled under the weight of deception.
Builder.ai, a company that claimed to use artificial intelligence to develop apps with minimal coding, has collapsed after it was revealed that the "AI" was, in fact, 700 human engineers posing as bots.
Despite securing over $450 million in funding — including backing from Microsoft and the World Bank's IFC — the truth unraveled when whistleblowers and auditors exposed the fraud.
The company had convinced investors it was at the forefront of machine learning, while it was actually outsourcing tasks to developers in India, instructed to mimic AI behavior.
Builder.ai has since filed for bankruptcy and entered liquidation, after a major lender withdrew millions from its accounts, leaving the company unable to operate.
The fallout has stunned the tech world, which saw the company as a rising unicorn in the AI space. This collapse not only marks a dramatic end for Builder.ai but also raises serious questions about transparency, due diligence, and the true capabilities behind the AI boom.
learn more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ndian-firm-verse-to-inflate-sales-sources-say
