Avi Patel alleges General Catalyst co-led $31.5M seed into copycat of his startup Kled
In a thread on X, the Kled founder says he spoke with GC for months and claims the firm backed a startup that copied Kled’s designs, site, and app.
By Staff ·
Why it matters
Founders watch investor relationships closely. Allegations that a top firm backed a near-clone raise trust and diligence questions that can shape who builders choose to meet, pitch, or share product with.
Avi Patel (@avipat_) alleged in a thread on X that General Catalyst co-led a $31.5 million seed round into a startup he says is a copy of his company, @useKled.
https://x.com/avipat_/status/2055384102409253056
"General Catalyst just co-led a $31.5 million seed round into a blatant rip-off of my company, Kled," Patel wrote on X, calling the situation "egregious and completely unacceptable." The post includes a video.
In the same thread, Patel said he had been in conversations with General Catalyst for months and claimed the firm was "very very well aware" that the other team "1:1 copied us, designs and site and app and everything." He added that he typically welcomes competition but called this case "INSANE."
Patel did not name the funded startup in his initial post, and no additional details about the round or company were provided in the thread. RuntimeWire has not independently verified the claims.