SoftBank-backed company, once valued at Rs 9590 crore, shutting down after probe reveals shocking data

There are several successful startups in India and some of them even turned into a unicorn. Few are also funded by top banks and investors as they saw potential in the business idea. However, a startup which is backed by Softbank is going to shut down after an investigation revealed that 95% of its users were bots.

The startup's name is IRL, a social messaging app. The company had become a unicorn when it reached a USD 1.2 billion valuation in a USD 170 million Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 two years ago. The company would now shut down and return capital to shareholders.

Last year, IRL CEO Abraham Shafi claimed that the app had 20 million monthly active users. He claimed that users chatted about shared interests and planned real-world events together on the app. Now, a spokesperson for the startup said an investigation by the board of directors concluded 95 per cent of those users were fake, IANS reported.

The company described itself as “the leading group messaging social network that brings people together through events and shared experiences”. “Our primary goal at IRL has always been to create more authentic and organic communities,” Shafi had said.

As part of this fundraiser, IRL also set up a creators' fund that would pay people to organise events in major cities using its app. According to Shafi, the goal was to become “a super messaging social network” over time. “We have the opportunity to build WeChat for the rest of the world,” he had said.

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