A technology company owned by Will.i.am, the singer, songwriter and record producer, is said to be running out of money, with staff not getting paid, its New York office closing and its customer support line dead.
A stalled deal, announced this year, between i.am+ and Majid Al Futtaim, a Dubai-based retail group, allegedly has left the company founded by The Black Eyed Peas’ frontman struggling.
In leaked emails, Chandrasekar Rathakrishnan, chief executive, tells staff that the company is “caught in [Majid Al Futtaim’s] internal process and waiting on the release of funds”, according to The Verge, a technology website. Mr Rathakrishnan adds that i.am+ is pushing “to receive funds now” and that there is “no question” of the company not being paid.
The technology business was founded in 2012 by Will.i.am, 44, who was a judge on the ITV music show The Voice. It focused on consumer electronics devices such as wireless headphones and a smartwatch, with its devices often modelled by Kendall Jenner, the reality TV star.
However, in 2017, after receiving $117 million in funding led by Salesforce Ventures, it moved more into conversational artificial intelligence for corporations. It acquired Wink, a company that lets users connect their smart home devices, such as lights or security cameras. to one platform of any brand.
Representatives for i.am+ did not respond to requests for comment.
