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Builder.ai did not "fake AI with 700 engineers"

The claim that the AI startup “faked AI” with hundreds of engineers went viral – and I also fell for it, initially. The reality is much more sobering: Builder.ai built a code generator on top of Claude and other LLMs; it did not build a so-called “Mechanical Turk.”

Former engineers at Builder.ai told me there was internal conflict about what was the main product: was it the Natasha ecosystem, including the code generator, or the bespoke software development service that Builder.ai offered to customers? This is why I want to share the truth about Builder.ai’s tech stack: that there was no conspiracy to deceive users into interacting with 700 devs in the mistaken belief they were working with a cutting-edge AI. Also, I find it hard to believe that devs joining the then-high flying AI company could have had knowledge of machinations taking place at the executive management level of the business.

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