IRLs ex-CEO says hes shocked about the companys fake users

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IRL’s company logo.
IRL’s company logo. | Photo illustration by William Joel/The Verge

I have a packed issue this week, starting with the implosion of a once-hot social media startup called IRL. It raised $200 million at over a $1 billion valuation, and now its board is dissolving the company after finding that most of its users were fake. The SEC is investigating. It’s a whole mess. I have ex-CEO Abraham Shafi’s first public comments on the situation since he was ousted by the board.

Also in this issue: a convo with the earliest investor in MosaicML, the AI startup that just sold to Databricks for more than $1 billion; some notes on Google’s AR strategy; a scoop about Meta getting into the app distribution game; drug use in Silicon Valley; a Musk-versus-Zuckerberg cage match update; and more…

But first: Thanks to Roblox...

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source https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/30/23780041/command-line-irl-ex-ceo-shocked-fake-users

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