Sachin Dev Duggal, founder of the now-defunct artificial intelligence start-up Builder.ai, has been pulled from the speakers line-up at a technology conference in Paris.
Former employees emailed the organisers of the Raise Summit − which ended on Wednesday − with complaints over the nature of the company's demise.
In May, Mr Duggal's former company, which had offices in London and Dubai as well as workers in the US, began insolvency proceedings.
An email provided to The National composed by Raise organisers said Mr Duggal had been invited to speak to hopefully provide an insight into how the company's fortunes turned.
But they said they received “numerous emails", including from employees who lost their jobs, Raise said.
“However, given the security concerns and the fact that we did not have full clarity on the story, we ultimately decided not to move forward featuring him at the event.”
This is the latest in a series of incidents that have marked the fall of a company that once achieved unicorn status − receiving a valuation of more than $1 billion − and a significant investment from US technology giant Microsoft.
Some workers at the company have told The National that on legal advice, they had been told to preserve documents and other evidence that may relate to a possible criminal investigation.
Some also said they had been issued subpoenas from the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan.
In 2024, Mr Duggal briefly spoke to The National as he appeared at an event hosted by the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, which had just announced a new AI centre.
“With this centre, we're helping to unveil a portal to global commerce,” Mr Duggal said then, reflecting on why Builder.ai chose DMCC as an ecosystem partner.
“We didn't want to be a software company just surrounded by other software companies, we wanted to be surrounded by potential customers and peers.”
Yet ultimately, Builder.ai failed to meet revenue expectations.
The company had promised to make mobile app development as “easy as buying a pizza” through the use of heavily promoted AI technology, but it struggled to create reliable products, disappointing investors such as Microsoft and sovereign wealth funds in Qatar.
To try to stabilise the situation, Mr Duggal requested more investment funds, and an emergency loan, months before he was stripped of the chief executive title.
There have been allegations of financial irregularities, while the legitimacy of the company's AI technology has also been questioned in recent months by several news outlets.
In May, Mr Duggal posted a message on LinkedIn within a Builder.ai alumni group created on the platform.
“I don’t think the story is done yet, but irrespective, if I can be of any help to any of you as you make this transition in life please know I’m only a message away,” he posted in part. “And more importantly – if I didn’t listen, if I was short, if I was unreasonable – I’m sorry.”
On Builder.ai's main LinkedIn page, comments from unhappy former customers are plentiful.
“What are you doing to get all of your customers their code for completed apps they paid for?” one person wrote.
“Don't believe these fancy conferences, flying around, inviting celebrities … It's all hype and nonsense,” wrote another, referring to the various events where Mr Duggal often dispensed start-up wisdom.
A WhatsApp group created by former Builder.ai employees is full of criticisms as well, with some making allegations about not being paid for work done.
Mr Duggal has not responded to requests for comment.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
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With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
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