A startup was said to be ‘passing off' humans as AI. That's not why it collapsed
Once valued at $1.5 billion, the Microsoft-backed Builder.ai was supposed to make app-building 'as easy as ordering a pizza'. But then, it was alleged that its 'AI' was fake. And eventually, it was said, so were its revenues
It is the most ' high-profile ' AI startup collapse in recent times. And a convoluted story ties it to India.That story begins with a startup that said it could help anyone put together an app without any code — in 2016 , long before ChatGPT and Claude made it look so easy. The London and Los Angeles-based startup was founded by a British entrepreneur of Indian origin, Sachin Dev Duggal , and would eventually be known as Builder.ai . And, as the 'ai' in its name indicated, it would use artificial intelligence to turn app-building into what it said would be a process ' as easy as ordering a pizza '.
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