a16z and Benchmark-backed 11x has been claiming customers it doesn’t have | TechCrunch

AI-powered sales automation startup 11x appeared to be on an explosive growth trajectory.

Sources tell TechCrunch that the company has experienced financial struggles, largely of its own making.

11x offers an AI bot for outbound cold sales duties, including identifying prospects, crafting custom messages, and scheduling sales calls.

At least one company with logos on 11x ’s website were not actual customers.

At least three employees said they left the company because of what they perceived as shady tactics at the company.

11x offered customers a break clause, typically at three months , that made it easy for customers to break the contract.

When reporting annual recurring revenue, the company didn’t differentiate between trial periods and long-term customers, former and current employees said.

Employees were generally expected to work at least 60 hours a week with heavy pressure to be constantly available, according to employees and messages seen by TechCrunch .

Sukkar was known to post his frustrations about a worker in the general Slack channel for everyone to see.

Employees who spoke out risked being threatened with dismissal.