(comments)

原始链接: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44042963

Builder.ai, a Microsoft-backed AI company that raised a substantial $450 million, is facing insolvency. A Hacker News discussion highlights the company's rapid spending, with speculation on whether this was due to poor financial planning or an aggressive growth strategy reminiscent of the dot-com bubble era. One commenter questioned burning through $250 million in two years without a sufficient emergency fund. Concerns have also been raised regarding potential financial misrepresentation, including allegations of inflated sales figures and questions surrounding the true nature of its AI-driven platform, with claims that human engineers played a more significant role than initially advertised. Another comment pointed out the lack of incentive for VC-backed companies to prioritize sustainable business plans over growth fueled by funding.

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  • 原文
    Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login
    Microsoft-backed Builder.ai enters insolvency proceedings (techcrunch.com)
    25 points by upupupandaway 1 day ago | hide | past | favorite | 4 comments










    They've raised 450m according to this article. Their site mentions 250m raised in 2023. Even if your plan is growth or bust, how do you burn through 250m in two years without thinking 'Maybe we should plan to keep 50 or 100m for more than 2 years as an emergency fund'?

    I'm just wondering if these guys have no financial literacy or just are really optimistic and want to burn through the cash to give them the best chance?

    I kind of doubt of spending money at that rate does give them the best chance, but maybe they do.



    > I kind of doubt of spending money at that rate does give them the best chance, but maybe they do.

    The AI bubble really seems to run more on dot-com logic than _anything_ we've seen since the dot-com bubble (I'm curious how much of this is just generational turnover, with the lessons learned in the dot-com bubble beginning to fade). More spending equals more better, the revenue streams will just appear if you spend enough money and believe hard enough.



    > Builder.ai hired auditors to study its financials, indicating that something may have been off behind the scenes. According to Bloomberg, former employees alleged that the company had inflated sales figures by more than 20% on multiple occasions.

    Sounds like fraud from top to bottom.

    > Before Engineer.ai largely rebranded to Builder.ai, it attracted a minor scandal. Engineer.ai claimed to have built a largely automated app development platform, but the platform in truth relied heavily on human engineers, according to The Wall Street Journal.

    AI: Actually, Indians.



    It wasn’t their money, why would they care? I mean that’s how the system is designed and the outcomes it generates.

    What VC backed companies take bootstrapping seriously? It’s mostly growth achieved via money not sustainable business plans.







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