Varun Vummadi, CEO of the AI startup Giga, has reported an extortion attempt targeting his company for $3 million in cryptocurrency. The incident involves a group allegedly using illegally obtained confidential information to threaten the release of manipulated data and false allegations unless their demands are met. Vummadi outlined the situation in a post on X, emphasizing the dire nature of the threats.
In his communication, he mentioned that the perpetrators had already disseminated false information on social media, which he claims is defamatory. The situation has raised questions among netizens about the validity of the claims being used for extortion and the company's data security practices.
This extortion claim follows previous allegations from former employees, including Jared Steele, who accused Giga of unethical practices, such as falsifying revenue and mistreating staff. Steele described the work environment as "toxic," leading him to leave the company shortly after being hired. Vummadi has refuted these accusations, labeling them as misleading and asserting that they stem from a context-manipulated agenda to damage the company's reputation after securing $61 million in Series A funding.