Have you seen the news about PearAI? They basically copied another AI project and got funding from Y Combinator!

Yeah, it’s wild! They cloned an open-source AI editor called Continue and VSCode, but the worst part is they initially slapped a fake license on it.

A fake license? How did they even pull that off?

They literally used ChatGPT to write the license! Can you believe that? Open source is supposed to be about community and transparency, not just copying and changing a few things.

Wow, that’s pretty bad. Didn’t they get called out for it?

Oh, absolutely. People were furious. They got a ton of backlash, especially when they tried to pass it off like they built the whole thing themselves. They’ve apologized now and switched to the proper Apache open-source license.

Still, sounds like they just renamed stuff and tried to take credit for it. Why would Y Combinator back them?

That’s the big controversy. People are questioning why YC would fund a project that’s just a copy with no real innovation. They’ve funded other AI code editors too, like Void and Melty, so it seems odd they would add PearAI to the mix.

Yeah, it sounds like there’s nothing new here. Why fund more of the same?

Exactly. Some people think it’s just because PearAI has the ‘AI’ buzzword. YC and other VCs are pouring money into anything related to AI without looking closely at what’s really being built.

But isn’t this bad for open-source projects? If people just clone stuff without contributing, it could hurt the whole community.

Definitely. Open source relies on trust and collaboration. If companies keep abusing it like this, it could discourage people from sharing their work.

So what’s next for PearAI? Are they in trouble?

They’ve apologized, and Y Combinator’s CEO, Garry Tan, defended them on social media, saying open-source licenses allow for this kind of cloning. But the damage to their reputation is done. Some people think this shows a decline in YC’s standards.

It’s crazy to think a company can get half a million dollars in funding by just copying someone else’s code!

I know, right? It’s definitely raised some big questions about how VC firms choose their investments. Hopefully, this encourages more transparency in the future.