Scrutinizing the remarkable tale of this teenage Forbes 30 under 30 inductee

Terence Lee co-reported this story. Budi Sutrisno and Jofie Yordan provided additional reporting.

Harsh Dalal has supposedly done what many 19-year-olds can only dream of.

He is the founder of Team Labs, a Singapore-based software company that’s purportedly valued at US$25 million and employs over 100 workers.

At the age of 17, he reportedly raised a series A round from big-name investors like sovereign wealth fund Korea Investment Corporation (KIC). In comparison, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was already 21 when he did the same thing.

Team Labs also boasts of an impressive list of customers, including companies like tech titan Google, audio streamer Spotify, hotel chain Hilton, and accommodation rental startup Airbnb.

Meanwhile, Dalal is juggling being a full-time student at Singapore Polytechnic and an upcoming stint as an army conscript, which is a two-year, full-time commitment.

His awe-inducing story has led to splashy coverage in media outlets like CNA; a video of Dalal’s interview has over 850,000 views and counting. He also landed a place on Forbes Asia’s most recent 30 Under 30 list.

However, following requests from a few readers, Tech in Asia has investigated and found gaps in Team Labs’ narrative as we could not verify key facts.

Despite many attempts to do so, we could not arrange video calls or meet face-to-face with any of the company’s customers or employees – apart from Dalal, that is. We also could not get into a call with anyone from Team Labs’ main investor, Silicon Valley-based Grand Canyon Capital, nor could we find any news coverage on the venture capital firm’s activities and background information on its management.

Tech in Asia also asked Dalal to provide reference checks with known industry figures who could validate either Grand Canyon Capital or Team Labs’ numbers, but he did not do so.

Nevertheless, Dalal maintains that Team Labs and its big-picture story are legitimate. But after our first interview with him on May 3, Tech in Asia received a cease and desist letter from a law firm representing the Team Labs founder.

Forbes, meanwhile, told us that it had conducted a “comprehensive review” of Dalal’s profile story, in light of his request to amend information. (Update: Forbes has removed Dalal from the 30 Under 30 list.)

An article in the business publication that featured Dalal’s photo and story had been edited to remove all mentions of him.

Millions raised without face-to-face meetings?

Could not identify employees

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