The startup 11x claimed to be the future of AI-driven sales outreach. It had the backing of Andreessen Horowitz and Benchmark. It had a slick site. It had customer logos from respected companies.
It also had none of those customers.
According to a new report from TechCrunch, 11x falsely claimed that companies like ZoomInfo and Airtable were clients. In reality, ZoomInfo only trialed the product and walked away after it failed to outperform human reps. Airtable had no relationship with 11x at all. ZoomInfo is now threatening legal action.
For investors, this is not just a story about one company. It’s a cautionary tale about how easy it is to be misled in today’s market — especially when venture capital firms prioritize momentum over truth.
This article is a warning.
When a startup backed by two of the most reputable VC firms in Silicon Valley turns out to be misrepresenting its customer base, the question isn’t, “How did 11x think they’d get away with it?”
The question is, “How many others are doing the same thing and haven’t been caught yet?”
We are in an era where AI hype can raise millions on a pitch deck alone. Founders know the game: show growth, flaunt a few logo slides, and secure funding before anyone digs too deep.
That’s not entrepreneurship. That’s performance.
And when the biggest VCs are cutting checks without doing basic verification, it emboldens this behavior.
Investors are being sold narratives — some of which are entirely fictional. At 11x, internal reports suggest the company was inflating annual recurring revenue (ARR) by counting short-term trials as full-year commitments.
That’s not just bad accounting. That’s a deliberate misrepresentation of the company’s financial health.
Worse, it appears leadership fostered a culture of overwork and public shaming, according…
