Back in 2021, Japanese investment giant SoftBank led a little-known social media app called IRL to unicorn status and a $1.17 billion valuation. However, it was later revealed that 95 percent of the app’s 20 million users were fake. IRL marketed itself as an event-organizing alternative to Facebook but pivoted to online events after the pandemic. The company faced problems, laid off employees, and faced investor skepticism. Now, IRL is shutting down, leaving its 19 million bots behind. This adds to a tough week for SoftBank, as another investment in a robot pizza maker company also went sour.
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