There is something fishy about this Fish Tech Startup

An Indonesian agricultural technology startup that raised hundreds of millions of dollars appears to be a giant fraud. The company, called eFishery, told investors, including SoftBank, that it had revenue of $752 million for the nine months to September of last year when the actual amount was actually $157 million. This means that his income was 75% lower than what he had presented. You can call him a pescatarian ponzi.

eFishery says its mission is to address a growing global demand for animal proteins by modernizing Indonesia’s fishing industry. eFishery develops end-to-end technology for fish farmers, from internet-connected smart feeders to a mobile app where farmers can sell their harvest. Shrimp in particular is fairly high in proteinand the thinking was that fish farmers in Indonesia could use modern technology to increase yields and supply a growing global population.

Alas, it doesn’t seem like many anglers wanted what eFishery was selling: “While eFishery said it had more than 400,000 fish feeders in operation to customers.” Bloomberg he wrote, “initial investigations estimated that he had only about 24,000.” eFishery has been in business since 2013.

Bloomberg at first reported about the alleged fish fraud, which came to light after a whistleblower approached the eFishery board with allegations that its numbers were not accurate. In addition to the massive revenue discrepancy, the company’s management told investors that it had made a profit of $16 million for a nine-month period, when in reality it had lost $35.4 million.

The CEO of eFishery was fired after an investigation by the board quickly raised accounting inconsistencies. The investigation remains ongoing, he said Bloombergbut it seems that someone is about to receive the Treatment of Elizabeth Holmes.

What are the chances that the founders of eFishery were inspired by 4chan?

eFishery has lost more than $152 million since its inception, according to the investigation. Fortunately, their backers include G42, an AI firm controlled by the United Arab Emirates. That is to say, they will be fine.