According to The Information, the former CEO of Twitter is launching an AI startup with a $30 million investment. Since Elon Musk fired him, Parag Agrawal has maintained a quiet profile. However, according to The Information, from unnamed sources, he appears to have been working on a firm that provides software for LLM developers.
The fundraising round was reportedly led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Index Ventures and First Round Capital, two venture capital organizations. Agrawal led Twitter from November 2021 to October 2022, when Musk fired him.
Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, now known as X, was completed on October 27 after a sequence of dramatic events. Musk began purchasing Twitter stock in January 2022, and by April, he had become the company’s largest shareholder, with a 9.2% stake.
That month, Agrawal announced Musk’s appointment to the board following a meeting with Tesla CEO and former Twitter chairperson Bret Taylor. However, Agrawal quickly changed his position and stated that Musk would no longer join the board after tweeting, “Is Twitter dying?”
In April, Twitter approved Musk’s bid to buy the company for $54.20 per share, but by May, he was attempting to put the acquisition “on hold” until Twitter provided him with more information about “the number of bots” on the network.
Musk attempted to cancel the agreement in July, sending a “termination letter” to Twitter, alleging that it withheld or manipulated data on the amount of bots. In July 2022, Twitter sued Musk to force him to complete the agreement, charging him with “refusing to honor his obligations.” Musk filed a countersuit, alleging that the business purposefully deceived investors about its prospects.
Musk’s lawyers resurrected the initial offer in a letter to Twitter on October 4. The transaction was finally completed on October 27, shortly after Musk fired Agrawal, along with ex-CFO Ned Segal and ex-chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde.
