There’s Something Fishy About This Fish Tech Startup

An Indonesian agritech startup that raised millions of dollars appears to be a massive fraud. The company, called Efishery, told investors including SoftBank that it had revenue of $752 million for the nine months to September last year when the actual figure was $157 million. This means its revenue was 75% lower than it presented. You could call it a pescatarian Ponzi.

eFishery says its mission is to address the growing global demand for animal protein by modernizing Indonesia’s fishing industry. eFishery develops technology for fish farmers, from internet-connected smart feeders to a mobile app where farmers can sell their harvest. Especially shrimp Protein is quite highAnd the thought was that Indonesian fish farmers could use modern technology to increase yields and supply a growing world population.

Alas, it doesn’t seem like many fishers wanted what Efishery was selling: “Although Efishery said it had shipped more than 400,000 fish feeders to customers,” Bloomberg wrote, “Preliminary investigations estimate that it was about 24,000.” eFishery has been in business since 2013.

Bloomberg before Report Regarding alleged fish fraud, which came to light after a whistleblower contacted the fishery’s board alleging that its numbers were inaccurate. In addition to the huge earnings disparity, the company’s leadership told investors it made $16 million for the nine months when it actually lost $35.4 million.

Efishery’s CEO was fired after a board investigation quickly uncovered accounting irregularities. The investigation is ongoing, according to BloombergBut it looks like someone is going to get it Treatment of Elizabeth Holmes.

Is it weird that the founders of Efishery got their inspiration from 4chan?

According to the investigation, Efishary has lost more than $152 million since its inception. Fortunately its backers include the likes of G42, an AI firm controlled by the United Arab Emirates. Which is to say, they’ll be fine.