The Future of Digital Workers

In this episode of AI + a16z, a16z Partner Joe Schmidt sits down with 11x CTO Prabhav Jain for an inside look at how AI-powered digital workers are reshaping sales and revenue operations. They discuss the evolution of agentic AI, the trade-offs between orchestration and autonomy, and the technical innovations driving 11x’s products, Alice and Mike. Prabhav breaks down the challenges of real-time voice AI, the complexities of multimodal agent interactions, and why the future of enterprise AI is about delivering measurable customer outcomes—not just automation. They also dive into the fast-moving landscape of model providers, the impact of open-source AI, and how startups can stay ahead in an environment of constant technological change. Plus, they explore 11x’s bold decision to re-architect its platform from the ground up, the lessons learned from scaling AI-powered sales automation, and what it takes to build truly effective digital workers. Key Takeaways: - The difference between true AI agents and complex orchestrations—and why it matters. - How 11x built Alice and Mike to deliver human-like sales performance at scale. - The cutting-edge advancements shaping AI voice assistants and real-time multimodal interactions. - Lessons from rebuilding an AI platform while supporting a fast-growing customer base. - How AI startups can balance rapid iteration with long-term strategic bets. - For anyone interested in AI-powered automation, enterprise sales, or the future of digital work, this episode offers a front-row seat to the latest innovations pushing the boundaries of AI agents. Learn more: 11x - https://www.11x.ai/ Follow everybody on X: Prabhav Jain - https://x.com/prabhavjain Joe Schmidt - https://x.com/joeschmidtiv?lang=en Check out everything a16z is doing with artificial intelligence, including articles, projects, and more podcasts, here: https://a16z.com/ai/ Chapters: 0:00 - 00:14 | Intro 00:15 - 01:26 | 11x CTO Prabhav Jain Describes What AI Agentic Products Mean To Him 01:27 - 02:12 | Are AI Agentics More Effective Than Humans? 02:13 - 04:17 | 11x And What Products They’re Building Today 04:18 - 05:15| Where Do These Products Live? 05:16 - 08:13 | Market Evolutions, And The Decisions 11x Has Made Over The Last Year 08:14 - 11:01 | Product Rebuilds To Scale And The Challenges 11:02 - 12:40 | Architecting And Testing When Building New Products 12:41 - 13:50 | Performance And Data Determines Customer Outcome 13:51 - 16:46 | Staying On The Cutting Edge 16:47 - 17:56 | Building For Scale VS New Tools 17:57 - 19:08 | Solving Customer Pain Points And Feature Requests 19:09 - 20:29 | Multi Product Strategy And Validating PMF 20:30 - 21:14 | What He Would Have Changed When Determining PMF 21:15 - 23:37 | Design Decisions and The User Journey 23:38 - 25:49 | Hiring And Talent