Pilot AI founders and investor accused of covering up sexual harassment in new lawsuit

Pilot AI cofounders Elliot English and Jonathan Su were
named in a suit by former employee Rachel Moore, which accused
the founders of sexual harassment and gender
discrimination.
Pilot
AI

• A former female employee at the $23 million artificial
  intelligence startup Pilot AI filed a lawsuit against the
  company this week alleging sexual harassment from the company’s
  cofounders.
• Rachel Moore, who was dismissed from her role around
  April 30, alleges that cofounder Elliot English took off his
  pants in front of her, and discussed sexual topics including an
  anal sex workshop he took at Burning Man, hosted by a famous
  porn star, according to the complaint.
• Moore also alleges that CEO and cofounder Jonathan Su
  ignored her complaints against English, and that the company’s
  investor, New Enterprise Associates, covered up her
  allegations. 

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A former employee at the artificial intelligence startup Pilot AI

filed a lawsuit against its cofounders and one of its
investors in the San Francisco County Superior Court on August 1,
alleging sexual harassment and gender discrimination in her time
at the company. 

Rachel Moore, a 24-year-old Stanford grad, claims she was
discharged from her role at Pilot AI around April 30 after months
of alleged sexual harassment and gender discrimination at the
company, according to the suit.

Pilot AI is a Palo Alto-based artificial intelligence startup,
founded in 2015 by Stanford PhD grads Elliot English and Jonathan
Su. A 2016 series A funding round, led by New
Enterprise Associates, valued the company at $23 million,
according to PitchBook.

Pilot AI, English, Su, and NEA are all named in the
complaint, as well as Pilot AI’s human resources provider
TriNet. 

Burning Man, pants dropping, and “fuck me boots” 

The culture at Pilot AI, Moore alleges, required employees to
participate in “sexual and risqué banter.” She was told men watch
pornography in the office and use the server room to masturbate,
according to the suit. 

In particular, Moore alleges sexually charged comments from
English, the chief technology officer, including one instance in
which he allegedly told Moore about participating in “an anal sex
workshop at Burning Man led by a famous porn star.”

In another instance, English allegedly asked Moore whether the
boots she was wearing were “fuck me boots.” Moore also alleges
that English called her into his office, closed the door and
changed his pants in front of her, which she took to be a sexual
advance. 

In addition to specific instances of sexual harassment, Moore
alleges Su, the CEO, tried to dissuade her from filing a
complaint, and failed to document her complaint when she filed
it, even as she faced what she believed to be retaliation for
rejecting English’s alleged sexual advances.

Moore also alleges that the VC firm NEA and its partner Rick Yang
led an “utter sham and a cover up” in lieu of a formal
investigation into her complaints. 

Representatives for NEA, Pilot AI and Yang did not respond to a
request for comment. TriNet declined to comment.