<ul><li>London-based startup Builder.ai, once valued at $1.5 billion, filed for bankruptcy after it was revealed that its 'AI-powered' platform was operated by human developers from India pretending to be AI.</li><li>The startup had raised over $445 million from investors like Microsoft and the Qatar Investment Authority, claiming to make software development as easy as ordering pizza through its AI assistant, 'Natasha.'</li><li>In reality, the company was not using AI technology; Indian engineers manually wrote code based on customer requests, while the output was marketed as AI-generated.</li><li>The collapse of Builder.ai came in May 2025 when lender Viola Credit seized $37 million due to inflated revenue projections. The company's founder, Sachin Dev Duggal, promised $220 million in sales, but an audit revealed actual revenue was only $50 million.</li></ul>

London-based AI-powered startup caught with human developers from India writing code based on customer requests, posing as AI

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