‘7 days per week, 12 hours work’: IIT alumni-led AI startup Giga faces controversy as employee quits in a day, cites toxic workplace
Giga, known for developing voice-based AI agents for businesses, had been celebrated for its founders’ decision to turn down high-paying jobs, and even a Stanford PhD offer, to build their venture.
The trouble began when ex-staffer Jared Steele shared his brief, troubling experience at the startup on X Just days after earning praise for securing a massive $61 million Series A funding round, Silicon Valley–based AI startup Giga, founded by IIT Kharagpur graduates Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep, is now facing serious controversy.
The trouble began when Jared Steele, who briefly served as the company’s chief of staff for demand generation, shared a troubling account of his short-lived experience at the startup on X. Steele said he quit just one day after joining, despite relocating across the country to San Francisco on only three days’ notice.
According to Steele, he began noticing “red flags everywhere” as soon as he arrived. He alleged that Giga enforced an exhausting 12-hour, seven-day work schedule, creating an environment where “employees were expected to always be working.”
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