(San Francisco) Arthur AI, a New York-based artificial intelligence company, received a message last April from a small box called OneOneThree. A man named Yan Fung, Chief Technology Officer at OneOneThree, said he was interested in buying Arthur AI’s technology and asked for a demo.
Arthur AI arranged a Zoom meeting with Mr. Fung to show him his software (New York Times had access to emails and video). When a colleague of Mr. Fung joined the call, the Arthur AI team realized something was wrong.
Mr. Fung introduced “Karina Patel, Chief Engineer of OneOneThree,” but the name that showed up in the Zoom call was Aparna Dhinakaran. An employee of Arthur AI recognized the name: she is the founder of Arize AI, a rival firm. “It’s too weird; I don’t know how they got the link,” the Arthur AI employee said.
The new participant quickly hung up, and Mr. Fung said he did not know Ms. Dhinakaran.
Later, from photos online, Arthur AI determined that “Fung” was an Arize AI employee named Dat Ngo, a person familiar with the matter said. OneOneThree, an inactive company, is registered in its name.
In the race for artificial intelligence (AI), the competition is increasingly fierce: big tech companies and start-ups are vying for customers, talent, funding and publicity. Big companies scour universities looking for engineers, while losing their best people, who go off to found their own companies. This year, venture capitalists are scrambling to invest in AI startups offering huge sums and sky-high valuations.
The competition between young AI companies is particularly fierce. Only those who find the right partnerships and the biggest customers while getting people talking about them have a chance of succeeding.
Interest in AI is not new. But in the past, some promised sea and world. In 2019, London-based venture capital firm MMC published research revealing that 40% of 2,830 European start-ups classified as AI companies were not using AI for a concrete business reason.
Cutthroat competition in tech dates back to the dot-com boom of the 1990s, and it’s worse during the feverish times when investors are ready to go all out.
Companies are watching their rivals, and start-ups sometimes do aggressive and unconventional things to accelerate their development. But few go so far as to use a false name and pretend to be a client.
Arthur AI’s CEO and a spokesperson for Arize AI declined to comment. Ms. Dhinakaran and Mr. Ngo declined to speak to The Times.
Arize AI and Arthur AI both offer “observability” software that helps identify and fix AI problems. Customers would no doubt consider both before purchasing.
Ms. Dhinakaran created Arize AI in 2020 near San Francisco with Jason Lopatecki, a former exec at TubeMogul, an ad tech company. The company has raised $61 million from Battery Ventures, Foundation Capital, TCV and Trinity Ventures, valuing it at $155 million, according to PitchBook, which tracks startups.
On LinkedIn, Mr. Ngo identifies himself as the founder of OneOneThree, described as a research contractor for autonomous vehicle networks, from June 2020 to July 2021. During that time, he was a data scientist at the publisher of Point Predictive software and the tax consultancy firm Alliantgroup, again according to his LinkedIn profile. He joined Arize AI in January 2022.
Mr. Ngo incorporated OneOneThree in Delaware in April 2021, a year before Arthur AI reunited and eight months before his Arize AI debut. OneOneThree did not have a website at the time of the meeting with Arthur AI. Its LinkedIn page names two former employees, including Mr. Ngo. OneOneThree’s registration has not been active since March, according to a document and an employee of the Delaware Secretary of State.
Prior to last April’s Zoom meeting between Arthur AI and OneOneThree, the person identifying himself as Mr. Fung explained that OneOneThree was “in stealth mode”, which explained that it did not have a website, said the person aware of the situation.
Arthur AI asked Mr. Fung to sign a mutual non-disclosure agreement, which is common in the tech industry to protect trade secrets. According to messages viewed by The Times, he asked Arthur AI to postpone the nondisclosure agreement. The company accepted.
In the Zoom meeting video, Mr. Ngo answers questions from Arthur AI on OneOneThree. Then he announces the arrival of his colleague Karina Patel.
This is where Mrs. Dhinakaran’s name appears on the screen, before we suddenly hang up. A stony silence falls over the meeting. An employee of Arthur AI asks Mr. Ngo if he knows Ms. Dhinakaran and why the founder of a competing firm is trying to see the demonstration.
“No, I don’t know her,” he replies.
Shortly after the call, an Arthur AI employee confronted Mr. Ngo in a LinkedIn post. Mr. Ngo responded by trying to poach him and lure him into Arize AI, said a person who read the exchange.
