996 goes West: US AI start-ups adopt China tech’s controversial work schedule to get ahead

by | Feb 20, 2026 | Asia

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They are young, intensely competitive, and unapologetic about 80-hour work weeks. Welcome to the United States’ new generation of tech founders.
Gen Z’s start-up class is reframing “millennial hustle culture” by shifting from side gigs and personal branding to a more rigid office grind, while looking to China for inspiration. It’s for this reason that US artificial intelligence start-ups are openly embracing 996, the controversial 9am to 9pm, six-day-a-week schedule popularised by Chinese tech…

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Written by Albert Pham, News Curator and Blogger

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