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- By Supratik Das
- Mon, 10 Nov 2025 10:04 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
A United States-based employee has alleged a “toxic work environment” at Giga, an artificial intelligence startup founded by two Indian-origin IIT Kharagpur graduates, just days after the company announced raising USD 61 million in Series A funding.
Co-founded in 2023 by Varun Vummadi and Esha Manideep, the startup builds voice-based AI agents for enterprises and has been praised for its rapid growth and recent funding success. But a social media post from Jared Steele, who joined and left the firm this year, casts a shadow over its otherwise glowing narrative.
Ex-Employee’s Allegations Go Viral
Steele, currently Chief of Staff at another company, Opal Dex, said he resigned from Giga on his first day, citing "red flags everywhere." In a lengthy post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Steele explained that while he joined the company to lead demand generation, he found the reality different from what had been promised during hiring.
He alleged inconsistencies in compensation, title, and company revenue figures. “The internal dashboards showed much lower numbers than what I was told,” Steele wrote, adding that the work culture appeared “unsustainable.”
According to him, Giga’s leadership allegedly made “bizarre” and “inappropriate” remarks during internal conversations, including statements about spending company funds on illegal activities once certain revenue targets were met. He also alleged that someone joked about “sacrificing a goat in India”, comments that he described as “deeply unprofessional.”
The former employee also accused Giga of imposing grueling work schedules, saying employees were expected to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, with little regard for personal time. He further alleged that the company’s paid time off policy could be changed “at management’s discretion,” leaving workers with little control over their schedules. Steele said that even after receiving approval to attend two family weddings before joining, those leaves were suddenly revoked after he signed the employment contract. “Employees were basically expected to always be working,” he said in his post, which has since gone viral.
Steele claimed that the final straw came on his very first day at work. After driving 26 hours across the country from Austin to San Francisco to start his new job, he said he arrived early to greet the team. When the founder walked in, Steele extended his hand for a handshake — but was allegedly ignored. “Not even a ‘welcome to the team’ or a hello,” he wrote. “That’s when I knew I couldn’t stay. Quitting after day one was the easiest decision of my life.”
Giga Yet To Respond
Founded in 2023, Giga develops voice-based AI agents designed to automate customer communication and sales interactions. The company recently closed a USD 61 million Series A round led by top US venture investors, marking one of the largest early-stage AI fundraises by Indian-origin founders in recent years. As of now, neither Giga nor its CEO Varun Vummadi has publicly commented on the allegations.
The viral thread has sparked a broader social media debate on startup work culture and the pressures on employees in early-stage tech firms, especially in Silicon Valley. While some social media users felt sympathy for Steele, others wondered how he could take issue with so many things after only a day of employment. “Startup life isn’t for everyone,” wrote one user. Another said, “If that’s true, quitting was the right move.”
