Delphia
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Delphia was a Toronto-based fintech founded in 2018 by Andrew Peek, marketed as an 'algo-advisor'. Its pitch: members would share personal data - banking transactions, credit card purchases, social media, Amazon, Venmo and LinkedIn activity - and Delphia would use it to make AI-driven investment predictions, paying contributors back with a native Delphia Data rewards token. It offered a mobile app with long-only actively managed strategies, zero management fees and a $10 minimum, plus a hedge fund for accredited investors. The company raised $60 million in a Series A led by Multicoin Capital in June 2022.
02 / Delphia FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Delphia's core thesis never materialized: the company claimed its AI used collective client data to predict which companies would outperform, but the US Securities and Exchange Commission found that Delphia did not have the AI and machine learning capabilities it advertised. In July 2021 Delphia admitted to regulators that it had not used any client data and had not created an algorithm to use it. In March 2024 the SEC charged the firm with 'AI washing' and Delphia settled for a $225,000 civil penalty plus censure. No public announcement of the 2023 product shutdown could be found, so the reasons for the consumer product's retirement are not publicly documented.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Product or service closed
SEC order 18 Mar 2024 (opened): Delphia (USA) Inc., Toronto-principal Delaware RIA, filed Form ADV-W 26 Jan 2024 stating it ceased advisory services as of 31 Dec 2023; five pooled vehicles were moved to a newly formed adviser. Parent shutting this investing unit;
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
In 2018, Andrew Peek founded Delphia in Toronto as an algo-advisor that would pay users a data rewards token for sharing personal data to fuel AI investment predictions.
- 02
In June 2022, Delphia raised a $60 million Series A led by Multicoin Capital, with investors including Ribbit Capital, FTX Ventures, Valor Equity Partners and M13.
- 03
In 2023, Delphia's consumer product was shut down; no public announcement explaining the retirement could be found.
- 04
In March 2024, the SEC charged Delphia with making false and misleading statements about its AI capabilities from 2019 to 2023; Delphia settled, paying a $225,000 civil penalty. No reliable loss figure was disclosed, so no loss amount is recorded.