Startup allegedly lied about Apple, LVMH investment; axed most of its staff

Terence Lee co-reported this developing story. Check back on this page as more updates come in.

Singapore-headquartered Aaqua promised to deliver a “refreshingly new social experience” to users.

Its webpage, flush with vibrant colors and happy faces, spoke of uniting “people, creators, and brands” through “music, the arts, games, interests, and community.”

Aaqua wanted to rewrite the narrative around social media, but it became another cautionary tale of startup failure instead.

Image credit: Tech in Asia

Buckling under the weight of its struggles, the company laid off 175 employees – the vast majority of its workforce – overnight. Many of these employees are still owed their salaries for July and August. Only a skeleton crew remains to oversee administrative duties.

Meanwhile, Aaqua founder Robert Bonnier is embroiled in a legal tussle with key investor Candy Ventures, an investment firm run by British property developer Nick Candy, over fraud allegations.

A dot-com entrepreneur, Bonnier was also fined in the UK nearly two decades ago for misleading the stock market. Separately, Candy was sued for extortion, intimidation, and blackmail, though a judge had dismissed the lawsuit in 2017.

In trying to raise money from Candy, Bonnier had allegedly made false claims that tech titan Apple and luxury brand LVMH were investing in Aaqua.

The deal talks started around August 2020. According to court documents seen by Tech in Asia, Bonnier had shared with Candy Ventures a capitalization table showing Apple was acquiring 300,000 shares for 576 million euros (US$583.6 million) while LVMH would receive 100,000 shares for 192 million euros (US$194.6 million).

The filings also reveal that Bonnier had told Steven Smith, a director at Candy Ventures, that Apple as well as LVMH or its CEO Bernard Arnault intended to invest US$1 billion in Aaqua.

At the same time, Bonnier had shared another document with Candy Ventures called “The Aaqua November Primer,” which listed Apple and LVMH as “founding partners” and described them as “partners in purpose.”

“At no time since its investment has Candy Ventures been provided with any evidence that Apple or LVMH had planned to invest,” according to a statement from the firm.

Regardless, both parties signed the agreements in February 2021. Part of the deal supposedly involves Aaqua buying Candy Ventures’ shares in Audioboom, a podcasting platform.

Aaqua responds

Cash flow problems

Questions about leadership