Bermudian-domiciled artificial intelligence firm Afiniti Ltd, which once said it would bring 1,000 jobs to the island, filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy recognition in the United States.

In a statement, Afiniti said it had sought recognition in the United States of its restructuring process in Bermuda by way of a voluntary court filing in the United States, known as a Chapter 15 proceeding.

“We are continuing to make progress on our balance sheet restructuring, which will strengthen our financial foundation and position us well for future growth and success,” said Hassan Afzal, Afiniti’s chief executive.

“We are pleased to have reached this next milestone in the process and look forward to completing the recapitalisation transaction before the end of the year.

“We remain focused on providing our customers with best-in-class personalised services they have come to expect and working with our partners as usual.”

He added: “We are grateful to have the support of our lenders, which demonstrates their belief in our business and confidence in our growth prospects.”

The statement added that Afiniti continued to operate as usual throughout the court-supervised restructuring process.

“The proposed recapitalisation, which has the support of 100 per cent of the company’s lenders and its largest shareholder, will help strengthen Afiniti’s balance sheet, and provide additional resources to accelerate growth initiatives, support continued product innovation, and enhance customer value,” said the statement.

Afiniti went into provisional liquidation at the Bermuda Supreme Court on September 19, with Michael Morrison and Charles Thresh, of Teneo (Bermuda) Ltd, appointed as the joint and several provisional liquidators.

In October 2020, The Royal Gazettereported that Afiniti was moving 90 of its staff to the island under the Government’s one-year digital nomad residential certificate scheme.

At the time, Jason Hayward, the Minister of Economy and Labour, said that Afiniti International Holdings, headquartered in Bermuda, would also take on ten Bermudian staff and planned to build up its permanent presence on the island.

In January 2021, The Royal Gazette reported that Afiniti had an ambition to increase its presence to 1,000 staff on the island within five years.

Later that year, Zia Chishti, Afiniti’s founder, quit the firm after he was accused of a sex assault. He denied the allegations.

• UPDATE: this report has been updated to include a statement from Afiniti, clarifying that Afiniti did not withdraw the bankruptcy petition as originally stated.

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