Builder.ai

Builder.ai, trading through Engineer.ai entities, sold a platform that promised to assemble custom apps using AI and a network of developers. Founded by Sachin Dev Duggal, its UK company Engineer.ai Global Limited was incorporated in October 2017. It raised more than $450m, including a $250m Series D in 2023 led by the Qatar Investment Authority, with Microsoft taking an equity stake. In early 2025 it restated prior-year sales, cut 2023 revenue to about $140m, appointed auditors to review its accounts and replaced Duggal as chief executive with Manpreet Ratia. In May 2025 lenders led by Viola Credit swept most of its cash after covenant breaches, leaving it unable to pay staff. On 20 May 2025 the company said its main unit, Engineer.ai Corporation, would enter insolvency; that US entity filed for Chapter 7 in Delaware. A creditor petitioned to wind up the UK company on 17 July 2025 and the High Court made a winding-up order on 10 September 2025.

The group's main unit went into US Chapter 7 bankruptcy with creditors reportedly including Amazon and Microsoft for unpaid cloud services; the UK company Engineer.ai Global Limited was put into compulsory liquidation on 10 September 2025 on a petition by Unity Marketing Limited, with the Official Receiver (London) as office holder. Around 270 of roughly 770 staff had already been cut in April 2025.

Revenue reported to investors was restated sharply downward, and venture debt with covenants gave lenders the power to sweep cash the moment the numbers slipped, turning a governance failure into an immediate liquidity collapse.