Builder.ai (formerly Engineer.ai Corporation[1]) was a smartphone application development company which claimed to use AI to massively speed up app development. The company was based mostly in the United Kingdom and the United States, with smaller subsidiaries in Singapore and India.[2] After years of allegations that it had exaggerated its AI capabilities (instead using outsourced human contractors) and misreported its financials, the company entered insolvency proceedings in 2025.[3]
 | |
| Formerly | Engineer.ai |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Software development Artificial intelligence |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Founder | Sachin Dev Duggal |
| Defunct | May 2025 |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Key people | Sachin Dev Duggal (CEO, 2016–2025) Manpreet Ratia (CEO, 2025) |
| Products | Mobile app development Web development |
| Website | builder |
History
editThe company was founded in 2016 by Sachin Dev Duggal after splitting from an earlier company.[4] Although his friend Saurabh Dhoot was initially listed as a co-founder, the company later stated that he was not involved in its founding. Both Dhoot and Duggal have faced criminal probes relating to their previous business venture under Videocon.[5] Dhoot served as a board member of Builder.ai from 2018 to 2022.[5] It advertised itself as making website or app creation “as easy as ordering pizza”, attracting investors.[2]
In 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported that Engineer.ai (as it was then known) used human engineers rather than AI for most of its coding work, contradicting the company's marketing claims about its AI-powered development process.[6]
In 2023, it received 230 million dollars in a 2023 funding round by investors like Microsoft and the Qatar Investment Authority.[7] Microsoft originally planned to integrate Builder.ai technology with its Azure software before creditors seized funds from Builder.ai.[8]
Collapse and bankruptcy
editIn May 2025, Bloomberg News accused Builder.ai and another Indian company VerSe of using round-tripping, a practice in which company sells then buys back an asset for the same price, to inflate revenue data between 2021 and 2024. VerSe has denied such claims, while Builder.ai declined to comment.[9] Another report alleged the company sometimes inflated sales figures by more than 20%. In 2025, the company hired auditors to verify post-2023 financials. In mid-2024, the company decreased its revenue prediction for latter half of 2024 by 25%.[7]
On February 27, 2025, it was announced that Sachin Dev Duggal has resigned as CEO, while keeping his board position and the title “chief wizard”. Manpreet Ratia was appointed next CEO. Additionally, in the same year, the company reduced its board from nine seats to five and requested that Duggal give up four of the five seats he previously held.[7] On May 20, Ratia told his employees in an internal call that funds had run dry and the company will enter bankruptcy proceedings.[4] The company has laid off 80% of its workforce, or around 1000 people.[8] In response to high debt and low balance, some shareholders pitched in $75 million to the company in early 2025.[2]
In May 2025, Builder.ai announced insolvency proceedings after creditors seized $50 million borrowed in October 2024.[10] Duggal is seeking a deal with investors to buy back the company.[2]
References
edit- ^ Silberling, Amanda (2025-05-20). "Once worth over $1B, Microsoft-backed Builder.ai is running out of money". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
- ^ a b c d O'Murchu, Cynthia; Smith, Robert; Heal, Alexandra (2025-05-23). "Builder.ai founder plots potential deal to buy failed company". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 30 May 2025. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
- ^ Purnell, Newley; Olson, Parmy (2019-08-14). "AI Startup Boom Raises Questions of Exaggerated Tech Savvy". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2025-06-03. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
- ^ a b Speed, Richard (21 May 2025). "Builder.ai coded itself into a corner – now it's bankrupt". The Register.
- ^ a b Heal, Alexandra; Parkin, Benjamin (March 21, 2024). "Men behind Microsoft-backed start-up Builder.ai named in Indian criminal probes". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
- ^ "Builder.ai coded itself into a corner – now it's bankrupt". The Register. 21 May 2025.
- ^ a b c "Microsoft-Backed Startup Builder.ai Hires Auditors to Investigate Inflated Sales". Bloomberg News. March 31, 2025. Archived from the original on 1 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Builder.ai collapses after revelation that its "AI" was hundreds of engineers". TechSpot. 2025-06-03. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
- ^ "Builder.ai Faked Business With Indian Firm VerSe to Inflate Sales, Sources Say". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 30 May 2025. Retrieved 2025-06-04.
- ^ Smith, Robert; Heal, Alexandra (2025-05-22). "Microsoft-backed Builder.ai collapsed after finding potentially bogus sales". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2025-05-28. Retrieved 2025-06-05.
Further reading
edit- Varsha Bansal (29 July 2025). "Inside the collapse of Builder.ai: Was it even an AI company?". Rest of World. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- Joshua Chu (2 July 2025). "Unmasking the unicorn". Law.asia. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- Jessica Huang (17 June 2025). "When No‑Code Became No‑Truth: The Rise and Fall of Builder.ai". IndraStra Global. ISSN 2381-3652. Retrieved 31 July 2025.