AI start-up Vizzio's CEO in hot water for forgery

By Minh Hieu January 24, 2024 | 06:25 pm PT

Singapore-based artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Vizzio Technologies is in crisis after revelations that its CEO’s credentials were fabricated, and its client list had been exaggerated.

On January 16, Tech in Asia, a prominent technology news website in Asia, reported that Jon Lee, the founder and CEO of Vizzio, had falsified his Cambridge Ph.D. degree.

Following this, Lee issued an apology on Vizzio’s website on January 17, describing his behavior as "personal misstep."

He stated his intention to remain the firm’s CEO, which was supported by the company’s board of directors and shareholders.

Concurrently, Vizzio’s board issued a statement endorsing Lee.

Meanwhile, a number of organizations listed as clients on Vizzio's website have denied being customers of the firm, or at least not directly, the Straits Times reported.

Following the scandal, some of Vizzio’s partner firms expressed doubts about continuing their association with the startup.

As of January 22, the client list on Vizzio’s website, initially featuring over 20 Singapore government organizations and major companies, had been reduced to 17 entities.

This incident is not the first instance in Jon Lee's history of fabricating credentials.

In 2001, while serving as the chief technology officer for software provider Elipva, he falsely claimed that he had won numerous awards from prestigious universities and foundations.

Lee was later fired after an investigation by Elipva found that these awards were also forged.