π A company with a market cap of over 1.5 trillion won was actually fake?
Haebom
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The messaging app IRL reached a $1.2 billion valuation in 2021, backed by a lead investment from SoftBank Vision Fund
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IRL claimed it had 20 million monthly active users (MAU), but significant discrepancies in various data raised suspicions.
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A thorough investigation into this matter revealed shocking results.
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Around 95% of the users were generated by automated systems or bots.
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This wasnβt a sudden surgeβthe situation was already like this when the SoftBank Vision Fund invested (...)
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The executives and staff were aware of this fact, yet chose to overlook it.
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With the deception exposed, the board concluded the company couldnβt continue operating and decided to shut it down.
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an investigation into the matter and proceeded with prosecution.
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IRL had over 100 employees, but once the investigation began, a large number resigned.
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SoftBank Vision Fund stated it would conduct a thorough review of this incident and strengthen its internal investment review process to prevent similar cases in the future...
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π Welcome to Haebom's archives.
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I post articles related to IT π», economy π°, and humanities π.
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haebom@kakao.com
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I post articles related to IT π», economy π°, and humanities π.
If you are curious about my thoughts, perspectives or interests, please subscribe.
haebom@kakao.com