Unraveling the Fraud: The Inside Story of a Boom-Time Start-Up without Oversight

After starting HeadSpin in 2015, the founder Manish Lachwani engaged in fraud, using fake invoices and inflated revenue numbers to paint a stronger financial picture. Despite raising $117 million in investment, the company had no CFO, HR department, or audits. Investors were aware of the inaccuracies, but pushed investments to a $1.1 billion valuation. After pleading guilty in April, Lachwani could face up to 20 years in prison for each count of fraud. Loose regulations and oversights at start-ups have led to more cases of fraud being uncovered. Among these, the founder of Nikola and an investor from Silicon Valley have been indicted. HeadSpin’s CEO has mentioned that corporate governance has since improved. Despite the misrepresentations, the company continued operations and secured new funding from Atlassian Ventures. A letter from his lawyers argued for a reduced sentence, claiming that despite being untruthful, the investors didn’t actually lose money.

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Unlikely Industry Player Anguilla Profits Big from A.I. Boom

Artificial intelligence’s integration into everyday life has stirred up doubts and unsettling questions for many about humanity’s path forward. But in Anguilla, a tiny Caribbean island to the east of Puerto Rico, the A.I. boom has made the country a fortune. The British territory collects a fee from every registration for internet addresses that end […]

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China Surpasses U.S. in A.I. Talent: A Key Metric

China lags behind the United States in artificial intelligence that powers chatbots like ChatGPT but excels in producing scientists behind new humanoid technologies. New research reveals that China has surpassed the United States as the biggest producer of A.I. talent. The country generates almost half the world’s top A.I. researchers, compared to 18 percent from […]

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Brands Brace for Impact as TikTok Faces Criticism

Amid debate in Washington over whether TikTok should be banned if its Chinese owner doesn’t sell it, one group is watching with particular interest: the many brands — particularly in the beauty, skin care, fashion, and health and wellness industries — that have used the video app to boost their sales. Youthforia, a makeup brand […]

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