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Latin Times
Latin Times
National
M.B. Mack

AI Startup Backed by Microsoft Revealed to Be 700 Indian Employees Pretending to Be Chatbots

Microsoft India Builderai
A Microsoft-backed AI startup that relied on hundreds of human workers posing as chatbots has collapsed into bankruptcy amid fraud allegations. (Credit: ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP via Getty Images)

A once-hyped AI startup backed by Microsoft has filed for bankruptcy after it was revealed that its so-called artificial intelligence was actually hundreds of human workers in India pretending to be chatbots.

Builder.ai, a London-based company previously valued at $1.5 billion, marketed its platform as an AI-powered solution that made building apps as simple as ordering pizza. Its virtual assistant, "Natasha," was supposed to generate software using artificial intelligence.

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