孙正义，又被骗了

Core Viewpoint - The recent bankruptcy of AI unicorn Builder marks the largest collapse among global AI startups since the emergence of ChatGPT, highlighting significant risks in the AI investment landscape [1][8]. Group 1: Company Background - Builder was founded in 2016 by Sachin Dev Duggal, aiming to simplify software development through AI, claiming to make the process as easy as ordering pizza [4][5]. - The company raised significant funding, including $295 million in A round financing led by SoftBank in 2018, and reached a valuation of $1.5 billion (approximately 10.8 billion RMB) by 2023 [6][7]. Group 2: Business Model and Claims - Builder's platform was marketed as a low-code/no-code solution, allowing users without technical skills to create customized applications, claiming to reduce development time by up to 6 times and costs by up to 70% [5]. - The company introduced an AI product manager named Natasha, which was perceived as a pioneering AI tool in the industry [5]. Group 3: Financial Misrepresentation and Collapse - Investigations revealed that Builder's operations relied heavily on human programmers rather than AI, contradicting its marketing claims [11][10]. - The company faced a financial crisis, with audits uncovering that its reported revenue for 2024 was inflated by 300%, leading to a loss of investor confidence and eventual bankruptcy [12][13]. - Builder's actual revenue for 2023 was reported at $45 million, down from an inflated $180 million, and it owed over $100 million to major creditors like Amazon and Microsoft [13][12]. Group 4: Broader Implications for the Industry - The collapse of Builder serves as a cautionary tale for investors in the AI sector, emphasizing the need for due diligence and skepticism regarding inflated valuations and unproven business models [18][17]. - The ongoing trend of high-profile failures in the tech startup space, including other companies backed by SoftBank, raises questions about the sustainability of the current investment strategies in the AI domain [16][17].