Optifye.ai, a AI startup backed by Y Combinator, has recently faced significant backlash due to a controversial video demo. The startup, co-founded by Indian-origin entrepreneurs Vivaan Baid and Kushal Mohta, developed an AI-powered system that uses computer vision to monitor factory workersâ efficiency in real-time.
In the demo, the founders role-played as factory supervisors, identifying underperforming workers â referred to by numbers rather than names â and blaming them for not meeting productivity targets. Meanwhile, Y Combinator also posted this Optifye demo video on X and LinkedIn on Monday, which was seen and shared (with screenshots) by several users on the internet.
They tried to delete it but this anon saved it⊠pic.twitter.com/mGiHFbEInF
â Based Baron (@BasedBaronT) February 25, 2025
However many people found the concept dehumanizing and exploitative, leading to heavy backlash online. And due to the widespread criticism, Y Combinator removed the video from its social media channels. In fact, a social media user questioned, âDid YC promote a demo for slavery?â
Notably, the controversy surrounding Optifye.ai centers on ethical concerns about using AI for intensive worker surveillance, highlighting the delicate balance between technological advancement and workersâ rights.
One user labelled it âcomputer vision sweatshop software,â suggesting it automates worker surveillance in an oppressive way. The criticism also extended to Hacker News, Y Combinatorâs own discussion platform, where users debated the ethics of AI-powered worker monitoring.
âLeave it to a bunch of children who have never worked a real job a single day in their lives and still havenât graduated college to come up with some obnoxious, slave-driving dystopian thing like this,â Christopher Amidon (Founder, Subsea Robotics) said in his X post.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Optifye.aiâs founders were inspired to create the software based on their personal experiences with family-run manufacturing businesses. They aimed to address challenges related to labour productivity by providing factory managers with precise, real-time data on worker performance.
Founded in 2024, Optifye.ai is a part of Y Combinatorâs current cohort. The startup uses cameras to monitor assembly lines and applies computer vision (AI that analyzes visual data) to detect inefficiencies, like slowdowns, stoppages, or errors in real-time, as mentioned on YCâs webpage. The debate over AIâs impact on employment is not new. Even, according to Goldman Sachsâ estimate, up to 300 million jobs could be lost globally by 2030 due to artificial intelligence adoption.
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Ashutosh is a Senior Writer at The Tech Portal, largely reporting on new tech, and intersection of technology and business. Ashutoshâs career spans across nearly a decade of technology writing across multiple platforms and languages.
