Builder.ai
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Builder.ai (formerly Engineer.ai) was a London-based startup founded in 2016 by Sachin Dev Duggal. It marketed a platform that promised to make building apps and websites 'as easy as ordering pizza', with an AI assistant that would supposedly design, code and ship software automatically. The company raised about $445 million, including a $29.5 million Series A in 2018 and a $230 million round in 2023 from Microsoft, Insight Partners, SoftBank and the Qatar Investment Authority, with Microsoft planning to integrate the technology with Azure. It entered insolvency proceedings in May 2025.
02 / Builder.ai FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
The company's AI claims were under scrutiny for years: in 2019 an investigation found it used human engineers rather than AI for most of its coding work, and a former executive sued calling the company 'smoke and mirrors'. In 2025, allegations surfaced of round-tripping with an Indian partner to inflate revenue between 2021 and 2024, with another report alleging sales figures were sometimes inflated by more than 20% (the partner denied wrongdoing; the company declined comment); the company hired auditors to verify its post-2023 financials. Founder-CEO Sachin Dev Duggal resigned in February 2025; new CEO Manpreet Ratia told staff on May 20 that funds had run dry and the company would enter bankruptcy proceedings. Creditors seized about $50 million borrowed in late 2024, shareholders provided $75 million that was not enough, and by June the company had laid off 80% of its workforce - around 1,000 people.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Bankruptcy
Tech.eu (20 May 2025): Microsoft-backed Builder.ai confirmed to the Financial Times that main unit Engineer.ai Corporation would enter insolvency and appoint an administrator.
- Bankruptcy
Bloomberg (5 Jun 2025) reported Builder.ai filed a Delaware liquidation bankruptcy case dated 2 June 2025 after creditors seized most cash in the British startup’s bank accounts (Engineer.ai Corp., D/B/A Builder.ai).
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Builder.ai was founded in London in 2016 by Sachin Dev Duggal as Engineer.ai, marketing AI-driven app development that was 'as easy as ordering pizza'.
- 02
In 2018 it raised a $29.5 million Series A; in 2023 a $230 million round from Microsoft, Insight Partners, SoftBank and the Qatar Investment Authority, bringing total funding to about $445 million.
- 03
In August 2019 an investigation reported the company used human engineers rather than AI for most of its coding work, contradicting its AI marketing.
- 04
In 2025 allegations surfaced of revenue inflation through round-tripping with an Indian partner (denied by the partner; the company declined comment), and auditors were hired to verify post-2023 financials.
- 05
On 27 February 2025 Duggal resigned as CEO and Manpreet Ratia took over; on May 20 Ratia told employees funds had run dry and the company would enter bankruptcy proceedings.
- 06
Creditors seized about $50 million borrowed in late 2024; by June 2025 the company had laid off 80% of its workforce, around 1,000 people.
- 07
No reliable realized loss figure with clear subject, period and basis has been disclosed; debts and liabilities are not the loss figure.