As the AI boom races ahead, a troubling reality is emerging behind the scenes. In Silicon Valley, some AI startups are embracing a relentless “996” work culture, a grueling schedule where employees are expected to work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.
According to a recent Wired report, the 996 schedule has resurfaced in the AI gold rush. Originally infamous in Chinese tech circles, it’s now being adopted by American AI startups looking to gain a competitive edge. With $104.3 billion invested into AI ventures in just the first half of 2025, the pressure to turn capital into market dominance is intense and it’s falling squarely on the shoulders of overworked developers and engineers.
“It’s becoming increasingly common,” says Adrian Kinnersley, a staffing expert interviewed by Wired. “We have multiple clients where a prerequisite for screening candidates before they go for an interview is whether they are prepared to work 996.”
For some, the 996 model taps into long-standing Silicon Valley mythology. Gen Z professionals, raised on the legacies of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, often equate long hours with entrepreneurial greatness. Will Gao, head of growth at AI startup Rilla, puts it plainly:
“There’s a really strong and growing subculture of people… who grew up listening to stories of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, entrepreneurs who dedicated their lives to building life-changing companies.”
But those legendary all-nighters at Microsoft’s “velvet sweatshops” are starting to look less like heroic dedication and more like a systemic labor issue in disguise.
The cost of this 996 culture? Work-life balance goes out the window. Mental and physical health deteriorate. And beyond burnout, there’s another disturbing side effect: exclusion.
Rigid, hyper-demanding work expectations disproportionately impact groups already underrepresented in tech particularly women, who still make up only 35% of the STEM workforce in the U.S. The caregiving responsibilities often shouldered by women make a 72-hour workweek not just unreasonable, but structurally exclusionary.
Perhaps the most cynical twist of all is the contradiction at the heart of the AI industry. The promise of AI has always been to liberate humans from tedious, soul-draining labor. And yet, the very people building that future are trapped in the same grind they’re trying to eliminate.
AI, in theory, is meant to make life easier but for those behind the curtain, it’s becoming a high-speed treadmill with no off switch.