YC Startup Delve Accused of Stealing Open Source Code from Its Own Customer
Compliance startup Delve faces mounting allegations of open source license violations after reportedly passing off a customer's tool as its own product.
Delve's Growing Scandal Takes a New Turn
The storm of controversy surrounding Y Combinator-backed compliance startup Delve has intensified this week, with fresh allegations pointing to a potential open source license violation — one that involves a fellow YC graduate who was also a paying Delve customer.
A whistleblower operating under the alias DeepDelver has come forward with new claims that Delve took an open source software tool, modified it just enough to obscure its origins, and then presented it as the company's own original product — all without crediting the original developer or establishing any formal licensing agreement.
The Pathways Tool and the SimStudio Connection
At the center of these allegations is a no-code tool that Delve marketed under the name Pathways, which the company reportedly pitched to a potential client. That prospect turned out to be DeepDelver themselves, who quickly noticed a striking resemblance between Pathways and SimStudio — an open source agent-building platform developed by AI startup Sim.ai.
When DeepDelver asked Delve directly whether Pathways was built on top of SimStudio, the company's team reportedly insisted the tool was entirely their own creation. However, DeepDelver subsequently presented evidence suggesting that Pathways was actually a fork of SimStudio — a modified copy of the original codebase with just enough cosmetic changes to disguise its true source.
If proven accurate, this would constitute a direct violation of the Apache 2.0 open source license, which requires developers who use and redistribute such software to give proper credit to the original authors. While open source software is legally available for use and modification, that freedom comes with a clear obligation: attribution is mandatory, not optional.
The Irony Is Hard to Ignore
Perhaps the most glaring detail in this unfolding story is the nature of Delve's own business. The startup sells compliance solutions — software designed to help companies meet regulatory and policy standards. The idea that a compliance-focused company may have itself violated a software license has drawn widespread criticism and no small amount of mockery across the tech community.
Sim.ai CEO Confirms No Agreement Was Ever in Place
Sim.ai founder and CEO Emir Karabeg confirmed to TechCrunch that he had spoken with DeepDelver regarding the allegations, acknowledging that Delve had no licensing or monetary agreement with Sim.ai at any point.
"We knew they planned to use Sim for something and later tried unsuccessfully to sell them an agreement," Karabeg told the whistleblower. "I didn't realize they were going to sell it out of the box as a stand-alone solution."
What makes the situation even more uncomfortable is that Sim.ai was actually a Delve customer. Both companies are Y Combinator alumni, and it is common practice within the YC network for startups to support one another by purchasing each other's products. In this case, Sim.ai was paying Delve for its services — while Delve, according to Karabeg, never paid Sim.ai anything in return for the use of its software.
From Sympathy to Silence
Karabeg had initially expressed support for the Delve team following DeepDelver's first wave of allegations last week. Those earlier claims accused Delve of fabricating customer data and using compliant auditors to rubber-stamp its compliance reports — accusations that Delve has publicly denied.
However, once Karabeg learned of the SimStudio allegations, the dynamic shifted dramatically. "I was consoling my friends at Delve after the first post was released last week, but since I found out about this news we haven't been in contact," he told TechCrunch.
Delve's founders have not reached out to Karabeg since the new allegations surfaced.
Investor Scrutiny and a Quiet Digital Cleanup
The whistleblower also alleges that Delve's questionable practices were already in place before the company closed its Series A funding round, which was led by prominent venture capital firm Insight Partners in a $32 million investment. TechCrunch has reached out to Insight Partners to inquire about these claims and the firm's due diligence process.
Notably, Insight Partners' 2025 blog post announcing the Delve investment was briefly taken offline, and the firm's LinkedIn post about the deal has yet to be restored. Meanwhile, all references to the Pathways tool — along with numerous other pages — appear to have been quietly removed from Delve's website. The company did not respond to a request for comment, and its media inquiries email address is reportedly no longer functional.
Social Media Backlash Grows
The allegations have ignited significant backlash on X (formerly Twitter), where the story has become a trending topic. A community note on the platform has added a layer of public scrutiny to the conversation, amplifying calls for transparency from Delve and its investors.
As the situation continues to develop, the central question remains: how will a startup built on the promise of compliance respond to allegations that it may have failed to comply with one of software development's most fundamental rules?
