VerSe Innovation Addresses Allegations About Builder.ai

VerSe Innovation, the parent company of Dailyhunt and Josh, firmly denies the allegations of financial misconduct related to Builder.ai, based in the UK, describing these claims as factually incorrect, baseless, defamatory, and misleading.

In a recent telephonic discussion with Startup Superb, Umag Bedi, VerSe’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, dismissed the allegations and presented substantial evidence, including monthly usage data from the AWS Portal supported by invoices from Builder, historical Jira tickets for cloud services, proof of custom app development on the Builder Home Portal, as well as numerous version releases, upgrades, and ad server campaign metrics. The company maintains that these invoices form part of a completely auditable trail consistent with the revenues reported in its financial statements.

The company stated that any suggestion of VerSe colluding with Builder.ai to artificially inflate revenues or engage in reciprocal billing without appropriate services is wholly false and irresponsible.

VerSe clarified that in the last five years, it has utilized services from Builder.ai amounting to $80 million, which included AWS infrastructure, cloud services, and custom application development. During the same period, Builder.ai compensated VerSe with $53 million for advertising and promotional services, showcasing a clear trade imbalance.

VerSe reiterated that all recorded revenues and expenses were for legitimate services provided—either directly or via subsidiaries. The company added that all financial transactions were appropriately verified by third-party auditors.

Each transaction involving Builder.ai was subjected to rigorous review during the statutory FY24 audit, and the outcomes were thoroughly validated. The audit concluded with an unmodified opinion, affirming that VerSe’s financial reports reflected an accurate and fair view consistent with the Indian Accounting Standards.

While auditors noted some internal control deficiencies in the standalone reporting, VerSe emphasized that this did not compromise the financial accuracy of their statements. The audit report confirmed that these weaknesses did not alter the auditors’ opinion.

VerSe stated that it reserves the option to seek legal action against individuals perpetuating what they consider to be falsehoods. They emphasize adherence to transparency and legal compliance, asserting that their records can withstand any scrutiny.

With the controversy now behind them, VerSe is concentrating on achieving breakeven in H2 FY26, propelled by its AI-first product suite, including NexVerse.ai, Dailyhunt Premium, Josh Audio Calling & Stories, and VerSe Collab.