Magnus Muller, the 24-year-old CEO of the AI startup Browser Use, works seven days a week from the time he rises (reportedly around 7 a.m.) to when he goes to bed — usually around 1 a.m.
Kinjal Nandy, CEO of AI startup Sonatic, recently posted a job that asks the prospective employee to work seven days a week, while AI startup Cognition’s CEO Scott Wu told the Washington Post about an “extreme performance culture” that includes working nights and weekends. (1)
In job listings and X postings, “996” is the PIN number for businesses seeking hyper-dedicated employees.
So why are these California-based CEOs working so hard? In part, it’s a throwback to the “grind culture” of the late 1990s and early 2000s during the first dot-com boom, when long hours and “sleeping under your desk” were seen as proof of startup devotion.
The other reason, as Caroline Winnett, the executive director of Berkeley SkyDeck, UC Berkeley’s tech accelerator program told the Washington Post (2), is that the companies building AI now will capture the market, and the window of opportunity is only two or three years.
This reasoning motivates young founders to race as hard as they can to build their businesses — and they are in a dead heat with their Chinese competitors.
In the last 10 years, Elon Musk and his companies have become paragons of grind culture, with Musk openly arguing 80- to 100-hour workweeks are essential to success.
The term 996 first gained traction in the U.S. after Alibaba founder Jack Ma said (3) in a 2019 interview that young people should see working 12 hours a day, six days a week as a “blessing” — comments that he had to walk back after online backlash.
Many of the founders who espouse the 996 ethos are in their 20s, when they don’t have other obligations to get in the way of their quest to be first-to-market with world-disrupting technology.
To the elite few who live in San Francisco and work for an AI startup, a 72-hour work week may sound like the only path to a future of untold riches.
But for most workers, including older workers and younger workers who aren’t all about the money, 996 sounds like a prison rather than a key to success.
Read More: Young millionaires are rethinking stocks in 2026 and banking on these assets instead — here’s why older Americans should take note
In China, the backlash to 996 has been loud and public. In 2019, developers launched the “996.ICU” GitHub campaign to shame firms that normalized 72-hour weeks and helped to turn overwork into a national debate.
In 2021, China’s Supreme People’s Court and the labor ministry issued guidance and model cases declaring 996 illegal, and state media amplified criticism of bosses who praised it. (4)
As Gen Z matures into the job market, some have developed an alternative ethos to 996. The “lying flat” movement (known as “tang ping” in Mandarin) won hearts and minds of younger workers in China by urging people to reject non-stop striving in favor of a simpler life that promotes personal well-being.
In May 2024, the head of PR for Baidu, China’s largest search engine, got significant blowback from younger Chinese tech workers for posting videos with themes like, “If you work in public relations, don’t expect weekends off,” and “I only care about results.” (5)
In the U.S., the closest analogue to China’s “lying flat” is “quiet quitting,” a widespread pullback from going above and beyond that Gallup estimates (6) includes about half of workers. Gen Z’s response to return-to-office mandates is mixed.
According to the Pew Research Center (7), many younger workers prefer hybrid flexibility and say they would consider leaving if remote options were removed, though research also shows young workers are often the most eager cohort to be in the office several days a week for learning and social connection.
The AI startups who are advertising for workers who are willing to put in long hours for low pay in the hopes of striking it rich in stock options later understand the rules of the game.
According to Cognition CEO Scott Wu, “cognition has an extreme performance culture, and we’re upfront about this in hiring so there are no surprises later.” A Mercor listing that says candidates should have a “willingness to work six days a week, and it’s not negotiable.”
For these employees, compensation is often tilted heavily toward equity in the company in a “work now, get paid later” arrangement. Most hires who accept this deal understand that they may grind themselves to dust for no compensation if the startup fails or fails to find a buyer.
On the other hand, they see the example of early employees at Netscape, PayPal, Facebook and Amazon becoming centi-millionaires from stock options and decide it’s worth the risk.
However, this financial gamble may also come at the cost of one’s health. A joint analysis (8) by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization estimated that working 55 hours or more per week contributed to about 745,000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016, identifying long hours as the largest occupational risk factor in their burden-of-disease model.
Evidence on productivity also undercuts the business case for extreme schedules. A 2018 book by Stanford economist John Pencavel demonstrates hours and output show diminishing returns as weekly hours climb, and historical evidence suggests output per hour can fall steeply beyond the 50 to 60 hour range.
So while 996 culture may be the Gen Z version of “rise and grind,” whether it will help American AI firms catch up with China is debatable at best.
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Washington Post (1), (2); CNBC (3); Reuters (4); The Guardian (5); Gallup (6); Pew Research Center (7); World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) (8).
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State basketball’s radio show, “Dawg Talk” presented by Learfield, returns for the first of three exclusive men’s basketball episodes on Monday at Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux…
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurobehavioral comorbidities in people with epilepsy, particularly in children, and is associated with greater functional impairment, academic challenges, and reduced…
After facing many difficult challenges, Demetrian Titus has been awarded the position of Captain of the Ultramarines 2nd Company (again), and now finds himself in the middle of a seemingly impossible task…
by Scott Nishimura, Fort Worth Report January 4, 2026
Editor’s note: During the holiday season, the Fort Worth Report is following up on the stories you told us you appreciated the most in 2025.
Last winter, longtime Fort Worth restaurateur and dumpling purveyor Hao Tran had just agreed to a lease on a substantially larger location in White Settlement.
Fast forward nearly a year, construction is due to start in January on Hao’s Duong DeVille, named for a Cadillac her father bought when she and her two siblings were children.
Her target opening is late spring. Construction will take about five months, according to Tran and her landlord Will Churchill, who owns the shopping center at Loop 820 and White Settlement Road with his sister, Corrie Fletcher.
Tran is still noodling on whether to retain Hao’s Grocery & Café at 120 St. Louis Ave. on Fort Worth’s Near Southside.
To keep her smaller shop, Tran says she needs to make it more economically viable: cooking classes and private events, such as prix-fixe dinners, pay the bills.
Produce and other grocery items line shelves around Hao’s Grocery & Café in Fort Worth on Nov. 17, 2025. Owner Hao Tran plans to open a restaurant in the next year. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
“The retail doesn’t cover the rent,” she said in early November, noting she’d already booked three events for the following month. “That’s the only way I can sustain business here.”
Tran regards the opportunity to build a 3,601-square-foot restaurant at the new shopping center as a godsend. “It literally dropped in my lap,” she said.
Tran juggles the business with her full-time career as a Trimble Technical High School teacher. She taught science at the campus for 25 years including culinary courses in the last two.
Tran opened the cafe seven years ago after spending years cooking for pop-ups.
She estimated she surpassed 1 million dumplings sold in early 2025. She runs her shop four days a week and fills out her schedule with the classes and events.
Now at 57, and after a few unsuccessful attempts to expand, Tran thought she was done with that idea.
“I was going to retire (from teaching) and work through this until I didn’t want to do it anymore,” she said over bowls of pho one recent Sunday evening.
Hao Tran is the owner of Hao’s Grocery & Café in Fort Worth on Nov. 17, 2025. Tran has been working toward opening a restaurant in White Settlement where she will serve Vietnamese food. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Unknown to her, Tran and her shop were on the radar of Churchill and Fletcher — the twin great grandchildren of the Fort Worth auto dealer Frank Kent. The siblings had purchased real estate at Loop 820 south of White Settlement Road and were renovating and repositioning the multiple commercial buildings on the site.
The duo’s prime target: a restaurant to broaden the offerings along the west side border of Fort Worth. Nearby Parker County is enjoying explosive growth with developments including the Walsh housing community and the UTA West campus. West Fort Worth’s high-end neighborhoods of Montserrat and Montrachet also bring potential customers.
The twins’ pursuit of Tran was similar to other efforts they’ve launched in commercial real estate where they first purchased sites, identified tenants they wanted, and then pursued deals. Melt Ice Creams on West Magnolia Avenue and Heim Barbecue are two such businesses they championed.
In Tran’s case, Churchill and Fletcher offered to finish out the new restaurant space at their expense.
Hao Tran walks around the future location of her restaurant in White Settlement on Nov. 17, 2025. Tran has been running Hao’s Grocery & Café in Fort Worth and working as a teacher while strategizing the restaurant. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
“From our perspective, she’s a great lady with an immense amount of talent,” Churchill said. “To do a project that is worthy, it’s going to take a significant amount of capital. We felt it was important to take the burden of that responsibility on ourselves.
“It allows her to execute without having debt hanging over her head every day,” he said. “If she was a normal office tenant, we don’t do anything close to that.”
“It is a gift,” Tran says. “I have to work the business. Use it well.”
Churchill and Fletcher had some delays on their originally envisioned timeframe. Over the past year, the two also sold the family’s auto businesses; repositioned their Fort Brewery business; and began construction of a Weatherford location of Heim Barbecue.
The extra time was welcomed by Tran, who’s had plenty of time to consider her strategy. “I wasn’t in a rush,” she said.
Hao Tran looks at floor plan renderings of her future restaurant in White Settlement on Nov. 17, 2025. Tran has been running Hao’s Grocery & Café in Fort Worth and working as a teacher while strategizing the restaurant. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report/CatchLight Local/Report for America)
Her Near Southside shop has three employees, not including Tran, and virtually no seating other than a small private dining room.
She estimates the new restaurant will need 15 to 25 staffers as the space will seat 124 inside and another 34 on the patio, she said.
The new restaurant will have a full bar, a change from her BYOB cafe. There will also be a television.
“We’re not going to be a sports bar,” she said. “It’ll be a place where friends and community can gather and sit and have a drink at 10 o’clock on Tuesday night.”
The cafe is open from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with events and classes on other days.
At the new place, Tran wants to start with Thursday to Sunday dinner service, then expand to other weekdays and times. Even if the hours aren’t yet set, she knows she wants a late dining room.
“That area needs it,” she said. “It needs a late-night place that’s got great food and great vibes.”
She said she’s asked longtime vendor and friend Thai “Luu” Vo, a Fort Worth vegan food truck operator, to become her chef de cuisine.
In preparation for the next stage of her life, Tran sold her home and moved into a garage apartment two years ago.
“I got rid of 80% of my personal belongings,” she said. “I’m living very feng shui.”
Scott Nishimura is a senior editor for the Documenters program at the Fort Worth Report. Reach him at scott.nishimura@fortworthreport.org.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://fortworthreport.org/2026/01/04/a-dumpling-dream-big-restaurant-gathering-spot-begins-construction/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report</a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src=”https://i0.wp.com/fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&quality=80&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”>
