Startup Founders Pretend to Be AI, Raise $1B
Update: 2025-11-25
Description
Two startup founders, Sam Udotong and Krish Ramineni, initially posed as an AI bot named Fred to validate their product idea, manually taking notes for over a hundred meetings. Their unconventional approach, shared on LinkedIn, sparked debate about startup practices. Despite financial struggles, they offered a human-powered note-taking service, hinting at AI but not disclosing it was manual. Now valued at $1 billion, they stopped manual note-taking and developed their AI, securing over $4 million in seed funding. This story highlights the controversial practice of pretotyping in the tech world.
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