As Silicon Valley adopts China’s 996 culture, DeepSeek founder says employees have no KPIs or overtime
DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng says his AI company does not follow China’s widely known “996” work culture. His comments come even as some Silicon Valley founders are pushing for longer workweeks to stay competitive. “We generally don’t work overtime,” Wenfeng said, adding that employees are not assigned key performance indicators (KPIs) despite the company’s rapid growth in the AI sector.Speaking during a nearly four-hour discussion with employees, according to a transcript obtained by Tencent Technology, Wenfeng also said, “No one manages them. No KPIs.” His remarks come as several technology investors and startup founders advocate longer working hours, arguing that the AI race demands greater intensity from startups.
DeepSeek says research needs a relaxed environment
Explaining why the company avoids overtime, Wenfeng said, “We generally don’t work overtime.” He added that there are two reasons behind the policy. Wenfeng noted, “First, research needs a relaxed environment; if you push too hard, you can’t do research. Second, we’re very focused, which means we do very few things.”According to Wenfeng, employees are formally assigned work for only about half of their working day. He said, “We hope ‘formal work’ doesn’t take more than half of an employee’s time. The other half is unallocated. They can do whatever they want.”He also described the company’s organisational structure as being driven by a shared vision rather than formal management processes.“We don’t really have an organization—we’re driven by a vision, organized by a vision. That vision isn’t even written down. We’ve never written anything,” Wenfeng added.
DeepSeek contrast with China’s 996 work culture
Wenfeng’s comments stand in contrast to China’s widely known “996” work culture, which refers to working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week. Although the practice was declared illegal in China in 2021, it has continued to influence parts of the country’s technology sector.Companies including Alibaba, Tencent and JD.com have previously been associated with long working hours. In 2019, Alibaba founder Jack Ma described the 996 schedule as a “great blessing.” More recently, discussions around similar work expectations have emerged outside China as AI competition intensifies.
Silicon Valley founders debate longer workweeks
Several venture capital investors and startup founders have argued that companies need to work longer hours to remain competitive. Harry Stebbings, founder of 20VC, wrote on LinkedIn: “7 days a week is the required velocity to win right now. There is no room for slip-up.”Index Ventures partner Martin Mignot echoed that view. “Forget 9 to 5, 996 is the new startup standard.” He also added: “Back in 2018, Michael Moritz introduced the West to China’s ‘996’ work schedule…At the time, the piece was controversial. Now? That same schedule has quietly become the norm across tech. And founders are no longer apologizing for it.”
DeepSeek continues expanding AI business
Founded in 2023, DeepSeek has become one of China’s AI companies competing with global chatbot developers. The company has recorded around 173 million downloads since launching its chatbot publicly in January 2025, according to Fortune.Despite operating in one of the world’s most competitive AI sectors, Wenfeng said the company continues to rely on a management model with limited hierarchy, no formal KPIs and no routine overtime, arguing that flexibility is better suited to research-focused work.
