Once praised as a rising ai unicorn, London-Based Startup Builder.Aai Now Finds Itself at the Center of a Tech World Reckoning. Marked as a revolutionary no-code platform where artificial intelligence could build your dream app in record time, the company has come Crashing Down AFTER REVEN AFTER REVEN AFTER REVER REVERENES Largely smoke and mirrors – powered not by algorithms, but by 700 engineers based in India.
The Ai That Never Was
Builder.ai’s core pitch rested on its AI Assistant, Natasha, which promised to simplife app development into somento some Soometing as Easy as as ordering pizza. The Startup secured more than $ 450 million in Funding, Drawing Heavyweights Like Microsoft and the Qatar Investment Authority, and Reached a Valuation of $ 1.5 billion.
But insiiders have now confirmed What Critics Long Suspected: Natasha wasn’t building anything. Intad, it served as a fancy front-end interface collecting user inputs, which was then shipped to human coders in India who wrote the actual software manually.
“There was no real ai,” former employees stated. That assessment is backed by ex-executive Robert Holdheim, Who Sued The Company for $ 5 Million after eating Sacked for Flagging What He Described as Deceptive Practices. According to internal documentation, clients were told their apps “80% buy ai” even though natasha’s underling tech “was barely functional.”
Revenue Games and a Leadership Shake-up
The illusion didn’t stop with tech. In Early 2025, Manpreet Ratia Took Over as CEO from Founder Sachin Dev Duggal in What appeared to be a last-ditch move to salvage the company’s reputation. What He UNEARTHED WAS DAMNING.
Builder.ai Had Claimed $ 220 Million in Revenue for 2024. The discrepancy triggered Financial Fallout – Viola Credit Seized $ 37 Million from Builder.Aai’s Accounts, Leaving the Firm With a Mere $ 5 Million in Restricted Funds. Unable to pay Employees or Mantain Services, The Company Began to Unravel.
In a public statement posted on linkedin, building, building. Historic Challenges and Past Decisions that Placed Significant Strain on its financial position. “
Fraud allegations and the bigger ai lie
The scandal has said snowballed into somenting bigger than just overhyped marketing. Builder.ai is Under Investigation for Potential Financial Fraud, Including Suspected Round-Tripping of Revenue With Indian Tech Firm Vance to Falsely Inflate Growth Figures and WOO More Investors.
The Startup also reportedly Owes Massive Dues to Cloud Providers – $ 85 Million to Amazon and $ 30 Million to Microsoft. A Us Federal Probe is currently underway, with autorities Combing through Contracts and Financial Records.
With Bankruptcy Proceedings Initiated in India, The UK, and the US, Over 1,000 Employees have ben laid off and client projects Lie Abandoned.
As the dust settles, builder.ai’s spectacular fall services as a grim warning for startups seling ai hype with support Writing the code.
