A private spreadsheet containing the names of more than 100 people accused of sexual misconduct has reportedly been circulating among women in Silicon Valley.
The document is described as an informal warning system for women working in technology, venture capital and related industries. Allegations associated with people on the list reportedly range from drugging and sexual assault to rape.
However, the existence of the spreadsheet does not establish the truth of the allegations against the individuals named in it. Accounts contained in private lists may not have been independently verified, and multiple versions of similar lists have reportedly circulated in the Bay Area over the years.
According to people familiar with the situation, some women have been reluctant to report alleged misconduct to police or publicly identify individuals because of concerns about professional retaliation. Silicon Valley’s interconnected professional and social networks can also involve employment, investment opportunities, housing and personal relationships, making it difficult for some people to distance themselves from individuals they accuse of misconduct.
Some of the incidents described reportedly took place in communal living spaces sometimes referred to as “hacker houses,” which have become associated with founders, engineers and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Allegations involving communal living spaces
One woman who has spoken publicly about the issue is Yehong Zhu. She said she reported a former member of a San Francisco communal house to police in December 2021, alleging rape and assault.
Zhu said the man had been someone she considered a friend and that she had repeatedly told him she did not consent. She also said people within their social and professional circle were reluctant to assist her in locating him.
A lawyer representing the founder of the communal house said the founder was unaware of the specific circumstances described by Zhu but would support law enforcement and prioritise safety.
Zhu later shared another woman’s account involving a different San Francisco community house. The account described an alleged incident involving ketamine.
The woman said she had joined the house on a temporary basis while looking for a sense of community and stability. According to her account, a male resident offered her a ketamine-assisted session in January 2025.
She said she had made clear while sober that she did not want to have sex. She alleged that the man subsequently gave her several doses of ketamine while remaining sober himself, leaving her significantly impaired, and later had sex with her.
The woman said she reported the incident to one of the house’s founders. According to her account, her experience was characterised as a “grey area,” and she was encouraged to participate in a mediated discussion with the man she accused.
She also alleged that the man was subsequently permitted to return to the community while she was still living there. According to her account, she was eventually asked to leave the house and believed that preserving relationships within the community had taken priority over addressing her complaint.
She has called for the community to publicly acknowledge the incident and explain what measures it would take to prevent similar situations.
Another former resident of a separate founder-focused community described a different experience. She said she suspected that she had been drugged at a gathering and later heard from other women who said the same man had behaved inappropriately toward them.
The women subsequently approached the community’s founders together. According to the former resident, the man was removed and the locks were changed.
She chose not to report the incident to police because she said she could not remember enough about what had happened to establish the circumstances.
Concerns about reporting and retaliation
The circulation of private lists has highlighted broader questions about how people report sexual misconduct when they believe formal systems may not adequately protect them.
Additional women reportedly came forward after the existence of the Silicon Valley list became public, describing allegations involving sexual assault, retaliation and professional consequences.
Organisations that have attempted to provide confidential reporting mechanisms have also played a role in addressing these concerns. One former nonprofit organisation developed a system that allowed survivors to anonymously record information and identify potential connections between reports involving the same individual. The organisation eventually stopped accepting new users after thousands of survivors had created accounts.
Private networks and confidential reporting systems can provide people with ways to share information when they fear professional or personal repercussions. At the same time, privately circulated allegations that have not been independently verified can spread without the safeguards associated with police investigations, court proceedings or formal workplace disciplinary processes.
The situation illustrates the tension between the need for people to warn one another about alleged misconduct and the importance of verifying serious allegations before treating them as established facts.
