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

-
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...

Continue reading…



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

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In a world first, China lands a spacecraft gently on the Moon’s far side

-
Image
This evening, China became the first nation to land a spacecraft gently on the far side of the Moon, according to China Global Television Network America . A Chinese robotic lander and rover, which launched from China in early December, descended into a crater on the side of the Moon that’s always facing away from Earth. The touchdown marks a significant technological feat for the country, and puts China in an elite category of spaceflight achievement all its own. The landing is part of China’s Chang’e-4 mission — one of a series of planned missions to explore the lunar surface. Prior to this program, China sent a lander and a rover to the Moon, making it the third country to ever softly land on the lunar surface. That lander, part of the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2019/1/2/18165807/china-change-4-mission-lunar-lander-rover-moon-farside
Read more

Snap suspends two anonymous messaging apps after cyberbullying lawsuit

-
Image
Images from Yolo’s now-removed App Store listing. | Image: Yolo Technologies Snap will suspend two anonymous messaging integrations from Snapchat after a lawsuit sought to hold them responsible for a teenager’s death, the Los Angeles Times reports . The lawsuit was filed on Monday by Kristin Bride, the mother of a teenager who died by suicide in June after being bullied on the two apps. “In light of the serious allegations raised by the lawsuit, and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of the Snapchat community, we are suspending both Yolo and LMK’s Snap Kit integrations while we investigate these claims,” a spokesperson for Snap said in a statement. Representatives for the two apps, Yolo and LMK, did not immediately respond to The Verge ’s request for comment. “We are suspending both Yolo and LMK’s Snap... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/12/22431883/snap-inc-snapchat-anonymous-messaging-qa-lawsuit-teenager-death
Read more