SoftBank's Vision Fund filed suit against the founders of one of its portfolio companies Monday, alleging that they artificially inflated user metrics, lied to the fund about performance and bilked the fund for millions. Buzzy social media startup IRL launched in April 2021 and was seemingly "one of the fastest growing social media apps for Generation Z," the complaint in San Francisco federal court alleges. SoftBank was invested in the company due to its apparently low cost, "strong" user engagement that left it "well positioned for further viral growth" in the same way Facebook and Twitter exploded. SoftBank believed that IRL had 12 million monthly active users. Past missteps from SoftBank include large positions in allegedly fraudulent crypto exchange FTX and devalued property company WeWork .

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Persons: Masayoshi, SoftBank, Abraham Shafi, Noah Shafi, Yassin Aniss, Abraham Shafi's Organizations: Vision Fund, Facebook, Twitter, IRL, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission Locations: San Francisco, SoftBank