IRL
Pay Tribute
Biography
IRL (In Real Life) was a social discovery and messaging startup positioned as an event-organizing alternative for Gen Z. Founded by Abraham Shafi and originally incorporated under parent company Live Awake, it raised over $200 million in venture capital from prominent investors like SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 and Founders Fund, achieving a $1.17 billion valuation.
Cause of Death
Following reports by The Information and an SEC investigation into potential securities law violations, an internal investigation conducted by IRL's board of directors revealed that CEO Abraham Shafi had drastically fabricated user metrics. The investigation confirmed that 95% of the platform's claimed 20 million active users were actually automated bots. As a result, Shafi was suspended, and shareholders voted to liquidate the company and return remaining capital to investors, officially shutting off servers on June 27, 2023.
Sources: techcrunch.com, theinformation.com, fortune.com, sfgate.com
Life Statistics
"Every digital product carries the dreams of its creators. Though they may vanish, the meaning of their existence will never be forgotten."