Hacker compromises A16Z-backed phone farm, calling them the 'antichrist'

A hacker has compromised a backend system for Doublespeed, an a16z-funded startup that uses a phone farm to flood social media with AI-generated TikTok accounts, and attempted to have those accounts post memes calling a16z the “antichrist,” according to screenshots seen by 404 Media. The hack is at least the second time Doublespeed has been compromised. The startup uses AI to create fake influencers, generate videos, and post comments. The screenshots show the meme queued up for publication in Doublespeed customers’ dashboard, seemingly to post to their associated social media accounts. A caption indicates the hacker stole some other data and may tried to post content from hundreds of accounts. Zuhair Lakhani, a co-founder of Doublespeed, told 404 Media that they addressed the unauthorized access attempt quickly, noting it involved an older system. Doublespeed raised $1 million from a16z as part of its “Speedrun” accelerator program. The startup markets its use of phone farms as a way to evade social media platforms’ policies against inauthentic behavior. This incident highlights the ethical conflict as Marc Andreessen, co-founder of a16z, also sits on Meta’s board of directors, while backing a company that aims to violate platform policies.