Scale AI cofounder Lucy Guo says work-life balance means you picked the wrong job. The 30-year-old billionaire runs on 5:30 a.m. to midnight shifts and calls it “not really work.” Guo dropped out of college and built her fortune with Scale AI, now worth $1.2 billion from a 5% stake.
Guo told Fortune:
“I probably don’t have work-life balance.”
“For me, work doesn’t really feel like work. I love doing my job.”
“I would say that if you feel the need for work-life balance, maybe you’re not in the right work.”
Her routine hits intense levels—two to three Barry’s HIIT sessions before starting the day, black coffee to kick off office hours at 9 a.m., then grinding until midnight. Guo is hands-on with customer support, personally answering questions within five minutes to keep loyalty high.
The push for nonstop work echoes a wider startup culture trend embracing China’s 996 schedule: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week. Silicon Valley and European tech leaders are backing this grind. Harry Stebbings of 20VC called for “7 days a week” velocity on LinkedIn, while Index Ventures partner Martin Mignot says 996 is now the “norm” in tech.
CEOs at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in Riyadh confess to working beyond 40 hours weekly. Cigna Middle East CEO Leah Cotterill works straight through Monday to Thursday, while others report 12+ hour days or 80-hour weeks.
Passionate or burned out? Guo and peers say it’s passion that fuels their nonstop hustle.
A leaked internal memo from Google’s Sergey Brin even suggests 60 hours a week is the “sweet spot” for AI workers chasing the corporate ladder.
Work-life balance lovers take note: The grind just got a lot realer.
