Microsoft-backed UK tech unicorn Builder.ai collapses into insolvency

Once high-flying group founded by Sachin Dev Duggal says its was unable to recover from ‘past decisions’

Financial Times

The builder.ai story is wild. Microsoft put almost half a billion dollars into them (and lost it all). Everything crumbled when the Financial Times did a tiny amount of research on them, and realised their accounts were signed off a friend of the CEO. As soon as they hired a real auditor, they collapsed.

https://sifted.eu/articles/builder-ai-auditor-founder-news

After hiring a real auditor, the auditor found builder.ai faked three quarters of its sales. https://www.ft.com/content/926f4969-fda7-4e78-b106-4888c8704bda
Microsoft-backed Builder.ai collapsed after finding potentially bogus sales

Failed UK start-up revised down revenues to just a quarter of prior estimates

Financial Times

A journalist investigating this told me they’re looking at various other AI companies off the back of this - and all share similar close links to their auditors so far.

So strap in, and prepare to be shocked dot GIF.

@GossiTheDog LOL bonus points if they used AI to fudge the books?
@ai6yr @GossiTheDog Oooooh AI accountants. It's not fudging if you are hallucinating the books.