As SoftBank sues IRL for $150M after startup admitted 95% of its users were fake, VCs stress 'uncomfortable' due diligence

(Credit: getty)

Two years ago, San Francisco–based IRL seemed to be riding high. The messaging app startup boasted of its “unicorn” status, having hit a $1.2 billion valuation in a $170 million Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.

“We have the opportunity to build WeChat for the rest of the world,” CEO and cofounder Abraham Shafi told The Verge in 2021, referring to the messaging app in China that has more than a billion users.