20 May 2026Leopold’s 13F, Kled Founder Joins, Not Liable, Demis is an Angel, EQT €5B Fund, Disco Balls
Avi (Clad): LuAl Copycat Scandal & Data Marketplace Update
Avi, founder and CEO of Clad, describes the human data marketplace—around 300,000 users, five million uploads a day, over a billion total uploads—before detailing how competitor LuAl copied Clad's website word-for-word and raised $31 million from General Catalyst. He alleges LuAl faked compliance credentials, used a hardcoded live-user counter, and bolstered numbers with Nigerian paid traffic despite a 95% fraud rate that led Clad to ban the country. He critiques hype-driven Silicon Valley investing, saying he turned down most investors who flocked in after a viral video, and shares Clad's update: about $5 million a year in profit, work with nearly every major foundation lab, 90% fraud detection, plans to hire TikTok fraud engineers, and a public audit protocol, while raising off revenue rather than hype.