IRL

IRL was a social app that raised more than $200 million in venture capital and reached a $1.17 billion valuation in June 2021.¹²⁹¹¹ IRL shut down in June 2023 after the board concluded that the company's going forward prospects were unsustainable.¹²⁵

Timeline

Money raised

IRL raised a $1.96 million seed round in March 2017 from Floodgate and Founders Fund.¹³ IRL raised a $3 million seed round in January 2018 led by Floodgate and Founders Fund.⁸ IRL raised a $6 million Series A-1 round in April 2018 from Fort Ventures, Founders Fund, Goodwater Capital, and Hinge Capital.¹³ IRL raised an $8 million Series A round in June 2019 led by Goodwater Capital.⁸ IRL raised a $16 million Series B round in September 2020 led by Goodwater Capital.⁸¹³ IRL raised a $170 million Series C round in June 2021 led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 at a $1.17 billion valuation.¹²⁹¹¹ IRL raised a $4.67 million Series C-1 round in June 2021.¹³ IRL raised more than $200 million in total venture capital.¹²⁵¹¹

Investors named in the sources: SoftBank Vision Fund 2¹²⁹¹¹, Founders Fund²⁸⁹¹³, Goodwater Capital²⁸⁹¹³, Floodgate²⁸⁹¹³, Dragoneer Investment Group⁸⁹¹³, Long Journey Ventures⁸¹³, Kleiner Perkins⁸, 500 Global⁸, Raine Ventures⁸¹³, Convivialite Ventures⁸, Mark Pincus⁸, Fort Ventures⁸¹³, Hinge Capital¹³, Owl Capital¹³.

What happened

IRL was a social app founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Francisco.⁸¹³ IRL stood for 'in real life' and aimed to help users connect over shared events and interests.²⁹¹² IRL launched in 2019 as a tool for discovering real-world events and later pivoted to group messaging.⁸⁹ IRL raised a $3 million seed round in January 2018 led by Floodgate and Founders Fund.⁸ IRL raised an $8 million Series A round in June 2019 led by Goodwater Capital.⁸

IRL raised a $16 million Series B round in September 2020 led by Goodwater Capital.⁸¹³ IRL raised a $170 million Series C round in June 2021 led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 at a $1.17 billion valuation.¹²⁹¹¹ IRL claimed to have 20 million monthly active users.¹²⁵ Former CEO Abraham Shafi told employees the company had more than enough cash to last well into 2024.¹⁵ Employees started doubting Shafi's claim that the app had 20 million monthly active users.¹²

The SEC began investigating whether IRL violated securities laws.¹²⁵ IRL's board of directors suspended Shafi and appointed an acting CEO in April 2023.¹²⁵ A majority of shareholders concluded that the company's going forward prospects were unsustainable.² IRL announced it was shutting down on June 26, 2023.¹²⁵ IRL said it would return its capital to shareholders.¹

IRL's application was formally turned off on June 27, 2023 at 12pm PDT.⁵ The SEC charged Abraham Shafi with fraud on August 1, 2024.¹⁵ A federal grand jury indicted Abraham Shafi on wire fraud, securities fraud, and obstruction of justice on August 27, 2025.¹⁴ The indictment alleged that Shafi defrauded investors of $170 million in connection with IRL's Series C funding round.¹⁴ The indictment alleged that Shafi falsely told investors that IRL was spending only $50,000 a month in paid advertising.¹⁴

The indictment alleged that Shafi concealed IRL's spending on incentive ads by having them invoiced to a third-party firm.¹⁴ The indictment alleged that Shafi instructed an IRL employee to create false invoices that listed ad spending as infrastructure costs.¹⁴ The indictment alleged that Shafi restored his cell phone to a previously saved backup, resulting in the deletion of records.¹⁴ The indictment alleged that Shafi instructed other IRL employees to lie about his involvement in the scheme.¹⁴ Shafi faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count if convicted.¹⁴

IRL's website displayed a message announcing the shutdown of the app on June 27.⁵ IRL's email addresses for Shafi and another employee were disabled.¹ IRL had about 100 employees at its peak.² IRL acquired AeBeZe Labs in December 2021.⁸¹³ IRL was valued at $1.2 billion as of June 2021.⁸

IRL raised a total of $197 million across 4 funding rounds according to Multiples.⁸ IRL raised a total of $197.95 million according to Forge.¹³ IRL announced a new Culture and Creator Fund along with the Series C funding.⁹ IRL coordinated 2 million events per day as of June 2021.⁹ Users had spent more than 300 million hours together through the app and sent more than 1 billion messages as of June 2021.⁹

IRL was in talks to raise funds at a $1 billion valuation in April 2021.¹⁰ IRL's founders accused the venture-backed directors of disloyalty and self-dealing in shutting down the company in a Delaware lawsuit.⁷ The SEC case against Shafi was deemed related to the private action and assigned to the same district judge.⁷ Shafi's attorneys requested a federal judge dismiss his fraud indictment.¹⁷

Legal outcomes

• chargedThe SEC charged Abraham Shafi with fraud on August 1, 2024.¹⁵
• chargedA federal grand jury indicted Abraham Shafi on wire fraud, securities fraud, and obstruction of justice on August 27, 2025.¹⁴
• pendingShafi's attorneys requested a federal judge dismiss his fraud indictment.¹⁷
• filedIRL's founders accused the venture-backed directors of disloyalty and self-dealing in shutting down the company in a Delaware lawsuit.⁷

Where the founders are now

Abraham Shafi was charged with wire fraud, securities fraud, and obstruction of justice in August 2025.¹⁴ Shafi faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count if convicted.¹⁴ Shafi's attorneys requested a federal judge dismiss his fraud indictment.¹⁷

Sources

1. Unicorn social app IRL to shut down after admitting 95% of its users were fake | TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 2023-06-26
2. IRL admits 95% of its app users fake, will shut down | Fortune, Fortune, Jun 25, 20
5. IRL, a social app valued at $1 billion, shuts down after revelation that most of its users are fake, Mashable, 2023-06-27
6. Social App IRL, Which Raised $200 Million, Shuts Down ..., theinformation.com, Jun 23, 20
7. Another Silicon Valley CEO Charged with Fraud, evanepstein.substack.com, 1 year ago
8. IRL Valuation, Funding & Investors | Multiples, multiples.vc, Sep 18, 20
9. Social planning app startup IRL raises $170M on unicorn valuation of $1.17B - SiliconANGLE, SiliconANGLE, 2021-06-16
10. Social App IRL in Talks to Raise Funds at $1 Billion Valuation, theinformation.com, Apr 16, 20
11. IRL, Leading Group Messaging Social Network, Raises ..., businesswire.com, Jun 15, 20
12. IRL’s $1B Failure: How 95% of Its Users Were Fake, Startup Networks, Jan 10, 20
13. IRL IPO Timeline and Financing Details - Forge, forgeglobal.com, Jun 26, 20
14. Former Silicon Valley CEO Charged with Fraud and Obstruction of Justice, justice.gov, 2025-08-27
15. SEC Charges Founder of Social Media Company “IRL” ..., sec.gov, Aug 1, 202
17. Judge to Hear Motion to Dismiss IRL Indictment Due ..., davisvanguard.org, Jul 27, 20

How this case file was put together

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