# Builder.ai - Tool: Platform Reviews - Last updated: July 2026 ## TL;DR Builder.ai (Engineer.ai Corporation) is defunct. On May 20, 2025, the company entered insolvency proceedings across multiple jurisdictions after creditor Viola Credit seized $37M, leaving it insolvent. Approximately 1,000 employees were laid off and the platform was shut down. If you are a former customer, your priority is data export, credit-card chargebacks, and filing a Proof of Debt with the administrator — not evaluating this platform. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Builder.ai still in business in 2026? No. Engineer.ai Corporation (Builder.ai's parent company) entered insolvency proceedings on May 20, 2025. Approximately 1,000 employees — roughly 80% of the workforce — were laid off. The platform no longer delivers services. Any search result presenting Builder.ai as an active service is outdated. ### What happened to Builder.ai? Multiple converging failures: Viola Credit seized $37M, leaving the company insolvent. CEO Sachin Dev Duggal resigned February 27, 2025. Bloomberg alleged round-tripping with VerSe Innovation and approximately 300% revenue overstatement on 2023 financials (VerSe denied the allegations). An SDNY grand jury subpoenaed the former CFO in August 2025; the FBI demanded information; the SEC scrutinized AI-washing claims. No charges have been confirmed as of this writing. The company owed $85M to Amazon and $30M to Microsoft for cloud services. ### I paid Builder.ai and never got my app — what can I do? Act immediately on two parallel tracks. First: credit-card chargeback — contact your issuer now if your payment was within the past 60–120 days (window varies by card). This is the fastest financial recovery path. Second: Proof of Debt — file with the insolvency administrator for your jurisdiction (UK: Companies House; US: SDNY proceedings; UAE/Singapore/India: local administrator). Also contact AppStuck, which specializes in Builder.ai customer rescues. For material losses, consult an insolvency lawyer. ### Did Builder.ai really fake its AI? What is the '700 engineers' claim? The underlying AI-overstatement is documented: the Wall Street Journal (2019) and Rest of World (2025) both reported that the bulk of app-building work was done by human contractors, with AI handling routine template-matching rather than the '~80%' marketed by Natasha. The specific claim that '700 engineers were faking AI' went viral on LinkedIn, Hacker News, and X — but the Pragmatic Engineer documented that the source behind this specific headcount figure was later accused of fraud; the number itself is contested. Treat the AI-washing claim as confirmed; treat the specific headcount as unverified. ### Can I access my Builder.ai app or data? Possibly, if any portal access remains, but this should be treated as temporary. Builder.ai owed $85M to Amazon and $30M to Microsoft for cloud infrastructure at the time of insolvency; administrator-controlled wind-down can close access without warning. Export all data, assets, design files, and any source files immediately through any remaining portal access. Do not assume continued availability. ### Who are the best Builder.ai alternatives in 2026? For AI-assisted app building: Lovable (LLM-powered, GitHub export, SOC 2 certified, actively growing) and Bolt.new (WebContainers-based, deploys to Netlify/Vercel, code ownership via GitHub) are the closest maintained equivalents. For no-code complexity: Bubble (7.2M apps, stable and profitable) and Adalo (mobile and web, more accessible). For mobile-first: FlutterFlow (Flutter/Dart output, code yours). For enterprises: a reputable custom development agency with contractual IP ownership terms. ### Is Builder.ai worth it in 2026? No. The platform is defunct. There is no service to evaluate. If you arrived at this question from a Google search, the answer is unambiguous: Builder.ai entered insolvency on May 20, 2025 and no longer exists as an operational service. Evaluate Lovable, Bolt.new, or Bubble instead — all are active, growing platforms with published pricing and real code ownership options. ### What should I look for in an AI app builder to avoid a Builder.ai situation? Four non-negotiables: (1) Source code in YOUR GitHub from day one — not the vendor's account. (2) Direct integrations — your own Stripe, Supabase, and cloud accounts are the live connections, not the vendor's. (3) Contractual IP ownership in writing, not in marketing copy. (4) Source-code escrow (Codekeeper or equivalent) as a formal contract term. Beyond these: verify the vendor's governance structure, named executives with verifiable backgrounds, and no history of material revenue restatements. Builder.ai failed on every one of these dimensions. ### Can RapidDev help former Builder.ai customers rebuild? Yes. RapidDev helps former Builder.ai customers assess salvageable assets, scope a migration plan, and rebuild on platforms with contractual code ownership baked in from day one — specifically the structure that Builder.ai failed to provide. Book a free scoping call at rapidevelopers.com/contact. ### Will the Builder.ai founder's new startup SecondBrain be trustworthy? Sifted reported in September 2025 that founder Sachin Dev Duggal was briefing investors on a new AI startup reportedly called SecondBrain. As of this writing, SDNY grand jury proceedings involving former Builder.ai executives are ongoing and no charges have been confirmed. Any evaluation of a new venture by the same founder would require thorough due diligence, independent financial audit, and contractual protections that Builder.ai's customers did not have. We do not make a recommendation on unannounced products. --- Source: https://www.rapidevelopers.com/review/builder-ai © RapidDev — https://www.rapidevelopers.com/review/builder-ai