Silicon Valley AI startup Giga, founded by IIT Kharagpur alumni Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep, has hit controversy after earning positive headlines a couple of days ago. After the company made headlines for securing a massive $61 million Series A funding round, a former employee has made severe allegations of overwork, a toxic work environment, and deeply concerning conduct by company executives.
The controversy, which was highlighted on X (formerly Twitter) by Jared Steele – one who was briefly hired as the company’s chief of staff to lead demand generation but quit after just one day on the job. Steele, who relocated across the country to San Francisco on only three days’ notice for the role, stated he noticed red flags everywhere upon arrival.
One of the most serious accusations is an allegedly demanding and unsustainable work schedule. Steele claimed that employees at Giga were expected to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, essentially being required to always be working.
He further alleged discrepancies in the company’s paid time off (PTO) policy, claiming his pre-approved leave for two weddings was revoked immediately after he signed his contract, demonstrating that time off was subject to the capricious discretion of management.
IIT alumni startup faces new controversy
Steele described his short-lived tenure as a cold reception. He recounted that on his first day, the founder allegedly walked past him without acknowledging his presence or offering a “welcome to the team,” despite Steele extending his hand for a handshake.
Furthermore, Steele alleged material inconsistencies in the company’s financials, claiming that internal dashboards displayed significantly lower revenue figures than what had been communicated to him. More disturbingly, he claimed that startup executives made highly inappropriate comments, including promises to spend a substantial amount of money on “illegal stuff” upon reaching a $10 million revenue milestone, alongside remarks about “sacrificing a goat in India.”
The allegations cast a shadow over the promising future of Giga, which builds voice-based AI agents for businesses. While the company’s founders became a symbol of entrepreneurial courage after having rejected lucrative jobs and a Stanford PhD offer, the current claims raise critical questions about the internal culture driving the startup’s rapid growth.
Giga and its founders, Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep, have not issued any public response to the allegations yet.
