"No Remote Work, No Drugs": 23-Year-Old Indian-Origin CEO Backs 72-Hour Workweek

Greptile co-founder and CEO Daksh Gupta is fast emerging as the face of Silicon Valley's new "grindcore" work culture. The 23-year-old has claimed that many young tech workers in San Francisco's Bay Area willingly follow a 72-hour routine, working 12-hour days, six days a week.

"The current vibe is no drinking, no drugs, 9-9-6 (work from 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week), lift heavy, run far, marry early, track sleep, eat steak and eggs," Mr Gupta said.

A San Francisco Standard piece described the Indian-origin entrepreneur as the "poster child of AI boom's grindcore culture."

Mr Gupta also remarked that events like Burning Man, a week-long event in Silicon Valley, no longer resonated with younger techies. He said that the desert festival hadn't really been part of the "zeitgeist" since he moved to San Francisco in 2023.

A graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Mr Gupta previously interned at Qualcomm and Amazon Web Services before launching his own venture.

Since July 2023, he has been building Greptile, an AI-powered platform that helps developers detect bugs in code. The startup is backed by leading names in tech investing, including Y Combinator, Initialised Capital, Paul Graham, and SV Angel.

Last year, Mr Gupta sparked controversy for advocating his company's 84-hour workweek culture.

"I started telling candidates right in the first interview that Greptile offers no work-life balance, typical workdays start at 9 am and end at 11 pm, often later, and we work Saturdays, sometimes also Sundays," he wrote on X in 2024.

The remarks triggered a storm on social media. He later revealed that his inbox was flooded with "20 per cent death threats and 80 per cent job applications."

He compared the grind to a "rocket launch," saying, "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."

"If you care about work-life balance, I think that's great. There are plenty of places that operate that way, and they're very successful," he added.