A private spreadsheet containing the names of more than 100 people accused of sexual misconduct is circulating among women in Silicon Valley, according to a report by the New York Post.
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The allegations range from drugging and sexual assault to rape. The closely guarded document is being used as an informal warning system for women navigating the tech and venture-capital world, where insiders say reporting misconduct can carry career risks.
NY Post, citing multiple Silicon Valley insiders, reported that the list includes prominent investors, businessmen and people connected to major technology and artificial-intelligence companies. One tech worker in her 20s told the paper she discovered the document after speaking about her own experience and was invited to add her account.
The existence of the list, however, does not establish the allegations against the people named in it. NY Post itself noted that verifying the authenticity of the accounts was a separate question, while its follow-up report said multiple versions of such lists have circulated in the Bay Area over the years because of concerns about both misconduct and the risk of spreading unverified allegations.
Several women interviewed by NY Post said they were reluctant to approach police or publicly identify alleged attackers because of the influence of people in the technology and investment ecosystem.
One woman said that she feared that pursuing her case and losing could leave her “blacklisted” by investors across Silicon Valley. Another insider described a culture in which social relationships can overlap with housing, investment, employment and professional introductions, making it harder for people to simply walk away from someone they accuse of misconduct.
NY Post reported that several of the incidents described were occurring in so-called “hacker houses”, communal living spaces popular among founders, engineers and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Rape allegations at San Francisco ‘hacker house’
One of the women who has spoken publicly about the issue is Yehong Zhu, she told NY Post that she reported a former member of the San Francisco hacker house Genesis to police in December 2021, accusing him of rape and assault.
Zhu said the man was someone she had considered a friend and that she had repeatedly told him no. She also said people within their social and business circle were reluctant to help her locate him.
An attorney for Genesis founder Jeremy Nixon told NY Post that Nixon was unaware of the specific situation Zhu described, but would support law enforcement and prioritise safety.
Zhu later posted on X about another woman's experience at The Muse, a San Francisco community house, describing it as part of what she called the darker side of the city's communal-living culture. In the post, she urged people connected to The Muse or considering living there to read and share the survivor's account.
