The founder of a San Francisco artificial intelligence startup made false claims about the company in order to scam millions out of investors, federal

AI startup CEO scammed millions from investors, Feds say

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2024-09-25 01:30:02

The founder of a San Francisco artificial intelligence startup made false claims about the company in order to scam millions out of investors, federal prosecutors allege.

Baba Nadimpalli, former CEO of SKAEL Inc., is charged with securities and wire fraud for allegedly defrauding investors and misleading them about the company’s revenue and other financial and sales information.

Nadimpalli, an Australian citizen, founded the “digital employee” company SKAEL in 2016, running it as CEO until July 2022, according to an indictment filed Jan. 17 that was unsealed Monday.

The 41-year-old claimed his firm would provide corporate clients with artificial intelligence and automation software to assist customers with mundane, time-intensive tasks.

The indictment says that from January 2020 to around February 2022, SKAEL raised more than $40 million in three rounds of financing. To induce prospective and existing investors to invest, Nadimpalli allegedly made false claims regarding SKAEL’s revenue, customer base, and other financial information.