Why did Microsoft-backed $1.3bn Builder.ai collapse? Accused of using Indian coders for ‘ AI ’ work

In the golden age of AI-powered storytelling, Builder.ai had a pitch too good to ignore: make software “as easy as ordering pizza.” The startup, founded in 2016, claimed it could democratise software development by letting non-engineers build complex apps through a supposedly AI-driven platform. Over the next eight years, it raised over $445 million, counted Microsoft and the Qatar Investment Authority as investors, and crossed the $1.3 billion valuation mark.