Shareholders of messaging startup IRL decided to shut down the startup and return money to investors after an investigation revealed that 95% of its users were bots.

 

Shareholders of messaging startup IRL decided to shut down the startup and return money to investors after an investigation revealed that 95% of its users were bots.  Company spokesperson Elliot Sloane told The Information that "a majority of shareholders concluded that the company's going forward prospects are unsustainable."  Troubles mounted at the firm after a former employee accused the company of inflating user counts by using bots.  Several other employees began raising the same concern, prompting the SEC to investigate the startup to determine whether it had violated securities laws.  The board suspended co-founder and CEO Abraham Shafi for alleged misconduct two months ago.  Shafi claimed that the platform had 20 million active monthly users.  The firm had raised $200M from SoftBank's Vision Fund, Founders Fund, and others.