Bengaluru CEO’s 80-Hour Workweek For Interns Sparks Furore: Internet Asks 'Are You Narayana Murthy?'
Many social media users have reacted to the requirements of the company, calling them “exploitative”.
The CEO of Bengaluru-based AI company, Runable, has kicked up a row with his recent social media post seeking to hire interns willing to work up to 80 hours a week.
Netizens were quick to slam the post on X, which seemed partly satirical, saying it promoted an unhealthy work culture.
“Hiring full stack engg. (full-time/intern) to join us at Runable. Requirements? On-site in Bengaluru, 6 days per week. Able to pull off 60-80 hours per week,” Umesh Kumar, the co-founder of Runable, posted on X on Oct. 25.
According to Kumar, candidates must be highly skilled in JavaScript/TypeScript and have experience with large language models. Runable is seeking someone who is committed to its mission of building the “General AI Agent For Every Task.” The company won’t hire beginners or developers relying on shortcuts, Kumar’s post added.
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Since being shared, Kumar’s post has garnered more than 4.7 lakh views on X. Many people have reacted to the requirements of the company, calling them “exploitative”.
“Requirements? You should be exploitable and gullible,” a user posted. However, an unfazed Kumar responded: “So true, by the way, what are your requirements to work?”
On being asked about why the post lacked information on compensation, Kumar replied it was a deliberate move.
“Deliberately left it, only revealing the compensation structure to the ones who agree to these terms,” he said.
Some users also asked if Kumar was Narayana Murthy, referring to the Infosys co-founder’s frequent advocacy for extended work hours.
While interacting with the users, Kumar did not reveal the exact compensation for the role, but hinted at a range.
“I did work more than 60 hours in my last company, but the pay was terrible there,” a user commented.
To this, the CEO replied: “Here it's not, interns are buying iPhone 17 Pro.”
Founded in 2025, Runable's website states it is an AI company specialising in intelligent automation. It claims its platform enables AI agents to perform any digital task, allowing humans to delegate work ranging from creating slides, websites, reports, podcasts or even images and videos.
