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I’m a big fan of crime and mystery stories. A common theme among them is how all it takes is for one thing to be out of place for the whole house of cards to come crashing down.
The dog not barking, a throwaway remark from a neighbor, a piece of furniture positioned at an odd angle – that one little detail is often the catalyst for a deeper investigation, leading to the great reveal at the end.
This notion of one thing being out of place setting off a whole chain of events seems applicable to Jon Lee, founder of AI startup Vizzio Technologies.
Earlier, he admitted to Tech in Asia in a meeting that he lied about having a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. Since then, more cracks have appeared in his story.
Today we look at:
- More inconsistencies in Vizzio CEO’s story
- A blockchain-powered privacy firm from Vietnam that’s bagged seed money
- Other newsy highlights such as Antler’s capital injection into 37 early-stage startups and Meesho’s slashed valuation
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There’s more to this story
Image credit: Timmy Loen
After admitting that he faked his Ph.D, Lee said that he has “no more secrets left to hide.” However, Tech in Asia has since uncovered more inconsistencies in his claims.
- A laundry list: Lee had previously denied that he sent a forged Ph.D. certificate to one of his investors, but admitted in a later interview with Tech in Asia that he did. In addition, many of Vizzio’s videos seem to feature plagiarized content, and there are some companies that are listed on its website as clients that have denied the claim. There are also disparities in Lee’s claims about the number of patents linked to him.
- Shadows of doubt: Contradicting claims about Lee had already surfaced in the past, when he was still working in China. Tech in Asia has uncovered media coverage in the country about Lee that dates back to 2012, containing both accusations and outlandish claims.
- Beneath it all: Despite the inconsistencies in Lee’s claims, it’s worth noting that Vizzio is backed by real tech. The company gave a demo to Tech in Asia that showed how it turns 2D images into 3D models.
Read more: More cracks appear in Vizzio CEO’s claims
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