The founder and self-proclaimed “chief wizard” of London-based startup Builder.ai has quit his role as CEO of the company.
Founded in 2016 by Sachin Dev Duggal, Builder.ai uses AI to develop apps and websites, and has received more than $400m in funding from industry leaders like SoftBank and Microsoft.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Duggal said: “This topic has been under discussion for some time, and with the company’s evolution and growth in serving [small and medium-sized businesses] and enterprise customers globally, we have made a strategic change in leadership.”
He added: “This evolution marks an exciting new chapter for Builder.ai. After eight years of growth, bringing in fresh perspective and operational excellence is crucial for our next phase.”
An outspoken leader, Duggal previously told Sifted why he had eschewed the CEO title in favour of “chief wizard”, saying: “Life can be very serious a lot of the time [but using the title] removes a little bit of the formality, the gravity of having a conversation.”
Duggal will be replaced by Manpreet Ratia, a managing partner at Singapore-based Jungle Ventures, a VC firm which primarily invests in Asian tech startups.
In a statement to the FT, Ratia said he would focus on “ensuring that we scale effectively, execute with operational excellence, and continue to drive value for our customers, employees, and investors”.
Sifted approached Builder.ai for comment.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/builder-ai-founder-chief-wizard-sachin-dev-duggal-quits/
