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{"id":35925,"date":"2023-06-26T21:37:36","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T21:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2023\/06\/26\/unicorn-social-app-irl-to-shut-down-after-admitting-95-of-its-users-were-fake\/"},"modified":"2023-06-26T21:37:37","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T21:37:37","slug":"unicorn-social-app-irl-to-shut-down-after-admitting-95-of-its-users-were-fake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2023\/06\/26\/unicorn-social-app-irl-to-shut-down-after-admitting-95-of-its-users-were-fake\/","title":{"rendered":"Unicorn social app IRL to shut down after admitting 95% of its users were fake"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/06\/26\/irl-shut-down-fake-users\/<\/a><\/br>
\nUnicorn social app IRL to shut down after admitting 95% of its users were fake<\/br>
\n2023-06-26 21:37:36<\/br><\/p>\n

\n

Ironically, the social app IRL<\/a>\u2018s users do not exist in real life.<\/p>\n

An internal investigation by IRL\u2019s board of directors found that 95% of the app\u2019s reported 20 million users were \u201cautomated or from bots,\u201d The Information first reported<\/a>. So, after raising more than $200 million in venture capital, IRL is shutting down.<\/p>\n

IRL was poised to become an event organizing alternative for Gen Z, who are using Facebook less and less<\/a>.\u00a0But after raising its SoftBank-led $170 million Series C round<\/a> at a $1.17 billion valuation, the company\u2019s internal troubles became more obvious.<\/p>\n

Last year, IRL laid off 25% of its team<\/a>, or around 25 employees. During the year prior, IRL had more than tripled its head count, so these cuts came as a surprise. In a note to employees, obtained by TechCrunch, former CEO and founder Abraham Shafi encouraged employees to \u201cadapt\u201d and \u201cbe disciplined,\u201d citing that WhatsApp grew to 450 million users with a team of just 55.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecoming one of these iconic, impactful companies is akin to winning a gold medal in the Olympics. In fact, probably more challenging,\u201d Shafi wrote<\/a> in the memo, which was full of similarly outlandish analogies. \u201cLike the Olympics, we know most people don\u2019t want to be Olympians. In the same way, not everyone will want to walk the path we are walking. But for those that want to push their limits and find out what they are capable of, this culture is for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

In that same memo, Shafi said the company had \u201cmore than enough cash to last well into 2024.\u201d An IRL employee told TechCrunch then that the company had more than $100 million in the bank. Though it\u2019s unknown how much money IRL has left now, a company spokesperson told The Information that it would return its capital to shareholders.<\/p>\n

Around the same time as these layoffs, IRL employees started doubting<\/a> Shafi\u2019s claim that the app had 20 million monthly active users; then the SEC began investigating<\/a> whether IRL violated securities laws. By April, IRL\u2019s board of directors suspended Shafi and appointed an acting CEO.<\/p>\n

TechCrunch attempted to contact Shafi, as well as another IRL employee. Both of their IRL email addresses have been disabled.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/br><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

Science, Tech, Technology<\/br>
\n<\/br>
\nSource:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/06\/26\/irl-shut-down-fake-users\/<\/a><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/06\/26\/irl-shut-down-fake-users\/ Unicorn social app IRL to shut down after admitting 95% of its users were fake 2023-06-26 21:37:36 Ironically, the social app IRL\u2018s users do not exist in real life. An internal investigation by IRL\u2019s board of directors found that 95% of the app\u2019s reported 20 million users were \u201cautomated or from bots,\u201d The Information […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,17,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","category-tech","category-technology"],"yoast_head":"\nUnicorn social app IRL to shut down after admitting 95% of its users were fake - Science and Nerds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2023\/06\/26\/unicorn-social-app-irl-to-shut-down-after-admitting-95-of-its-users-were-fake\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unicorn social app IRL to shut down after admitting 95% of its users were fake - Science and Nerds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Source:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/06\/26\/irl-shut-down-fake-users\/ Unicorn social app IRL to shut down after admitting 95% of its users were fake 2023-06-26 21:37:36 Ironically, the social app IRL\u2018s users do not exist in real life. 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