Daksh Gupta, CEO of the artificial intelligence startup Greptile in San Francisco, is generating controversy with his job expectations. In a recent post on X, formerly Twitter, Gupta stated that he requires his team to work from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. at least five days a week, with weekends often included.
“It’s a rocket launch in some ways,” Gupta said in an interview with NBC Bay Area on Tuesday, comparing his startup to a high-stakes space mission. “And when you have two groups of smart people that are trying to solve the same problem, the one that works harder and is luckier wins. And you can’t control your luck, but you can control how much time you put in.”
Gupta has been upfront with potential hires, stating, “…i started telling candidates right in the first interview that greptile offers no work-life-balance, typical workdays start at 9am and end at 11pm, often later, and we work saturdays, sometimes also sundays. i emphasize the environment is high stress, and there is no…” This candor, however, has led to swift criticism.
The announcement has prompted a strong reaction. Kristy Kim, CEO of TomoCredit, countered Gupta’s approach, stating that while hard work is essential, it shouldn’t come at the expense of personal life. “But the key here is don’t let work consume your entire life,” Kim said. “If that happens you will burn out.” Gupta acknowledged that different companies have different values. “If you care about work-life balance, I think that’s great,” he said. “There’s plenty of places that operate that way and they’re very successful.”
Despite the criticism, Gupta also reports receiving a number of job applications in response to his post. He is specifically looking to hire software engineers who are driven and focused on financial rewards in the future.
