KEY POINTS
American YouTuber Stephen Findeisen, known by his alias Coffeezilla, has leveled accusations against the artificial intelligence (AI) firm Rabbit — which recently released its AI-assistant, “do-it-all” device, Rabbit R1 — over an alleged non-fungible token (NFT) scam.
In a recent YouTube video, Coffeezilla delved into the background of Rabbit, formerly registered as Cyber Manufacture Co. In 2021, the company had raised $6 million in funding for an NFT initiative named Gama, promising a gaming metaverse experience that failed to materialize.
At the time, founder Jesse Lyu made ambitious claims, envisioning NFTs as just the beginning, introducing the creation of “the first-ever carbon-negative cryptocurrency powered by our sun.”
The idea was to use proceeds from NFT sales to build a clean energy grid, with token owners holding ownership stakes. This energy would then “mine” the GAMA tokens. Lyu later asserted that NFTs would only represent 20% of the larger project.
In an interview, he downplayed the importance of the NFT mechanism, stating, “I would suggest for our true supporters, do not pay too much detail about the current NFT mechanism because that doesn’t matter,” asserting the company’s commitment to project development regardless of NFT success.
However, in a post from January 2024, Lyu appeared to backtrack, dismissing Gama as “a fun little project” and revealing personal acquisition of NFTs “just for fun.”
Coffeezilla’s attempts to contact the Rabbit team for comment were met with a response asserting that Gama had not been abandoned but rather “opensourced.”
The failure of the Gama project has raised doubts about the company’s intentions. Additionally, scrutiny has extended to Rabbit R1, which purported to offer various functions including answering questions, calling an Uber, ordering food delivery, playing music, and translating speech.
However, reviews from YouTubers have labeled the device as a “not useful gadget,” while online reviews have criticized its “unreliable performance, inaccurate responses, and limited battery life,” adding to the skepticism surrounding the company’s reputation.
