"Are You Narayana Murthy?" Runable CEO Slammed For 80-Hour Workweek Post

Runable CEO Umesh Kumar's latest job posting, expecting interns to work nearly 80 hours a week, has led to a massive uproar on social media.

The Bengaluru-based AI startup, which describes itself as building the "general AI Agent for every task," is hiring engineering interns for on-site roles. The listing, shared by Kumar on X, laid out his requirements.

He said the position was on-site in Bengaluru, and candidates should be willing to work six days a week, putting in 60 to 80 hours if needed. He added that applicants should be skilled in JavaScript (JS), TypeScript (TS), and large language models (LLMs), essentially, people who "know his/her sh*t."

Kumar clarified that he was not looking for beginners, neither "cracked" developers, though he added, "if you are, then good."

He said that Runable was looking for someone who truly believed in the company's mission and who has "no commitment issues."

hiring full stack engg. (full time/intern) to join us @runable_hq

requirements?
> on-site, bangalore
> 6x days/week
> able to pull off 60-80 hours per week
> knows his/her shit around js/ts and llms

not looking for a beginner. not looking for a cracked dev either (if you are,… https://t.co/GUyxhFYVIB

— Umesh Kumar (@itsumeshk) October 25, 2025

The post soon went viral.

A user on X wrote, "Requirements? You should be exploitable and gullible."

Another wrote, "Why not just hire someone really competent so they just work 60 hours? 80 hours signals some low efficiency work."

Someone said, "80 hrs doesn't feel healthy tbh. That's like more than 12 hours per day?"

"Are you Narayana Murthy?" a comment read.

In 2023, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy ignited a nationwide work culture debate when he urged young professionals to work at least 70 hours a week. He argued that only intense dedication could make India globally competitive.

Murthy, who often cites his own long workdays during Infosys's early years, believes the country's workforce must raise productivity and commitment, comparing his vision to the post-war rebuilding ethos of nations like Japan and Germany.

Critics slammed his remarks, saying he glorified "hustle culture" and promoted unsustainable work practices risking burnout and gender inequality.

Earlier this year, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) chairman S N Subrahmanyan faced flak for suggesting that employees should work up to 90 hours a week, including Sundays. "What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? Go to the office and start working," he said at the time.