Controversy Surrounding FancyTech Employee Complaints and Zhu Xiaohu's Investment
Zhu Xiaohu has praised many times in public and even invested in the AIGC company - FancyTech for three consecutive times, but after a podcast interview of the founder was released, it was besieged by many former employees.
The complaints of former employees mainly include three aspects: First, maximizing the exploitation of employees. Tend to hire interns with low salaries, and more than 200 interns in the company 'carry the banner'. Second, the leader is irritable and has an unstable mood. The phrase 'go to die' appears many times in chat records. Third, the artificial intelligence is questioned for its weak technical background, and it is said that technology is not enough and manpower is used. It is alleged that the company is like connecting human brains with network cables, and 'AI is for bragging'.
A former employee of FancyTech confirmed the above statements to Sina Technology , and directly said, 'I don't understand why Zhu Xiaohu would highly praise it (referring to FancyTech)' and 'leaving is the most correct choice'.
One interview, the bottom was exposed
The cause of the incident was an interview column. The founder of FancyTech, William, discussed the business model and future development, but unexpectedly, a group of people claiming to be 'former employees', 'former sales', and 'former interns' of FancyTech appeared in the comment area, publicly denouncing FancyTech and revealing the unbearable 'inside story' under the glamorous coat of the company.
Among them, an 'voluntary' intern who left said: 'This company actually entrusted the most important delivery tasks entirely to interns, just like a disposable tool, and once the task is completed, it is ruthlessly abandoned.' At the same time, the intern also pointed out that the 'project handover process in FancyTech is chaotic and disorderly', 'we keep repeating the mistakes of predecessors, as if falling into an endless cycle.'
It is revealed that there are currently more than 200 interns in FancyTech, and it has entered the stage of 'interns carrying the banner'.
A large number of interns are used, but the moods of the company leaders are not stable. Another person反馈 said that the PMF, flywheel effect and core advantage of FancyTech is to specialize in exploiting the loopholes in the labor law, hiring people with a salary of $2300, abusing 'go to die' during the probation period, trying to force them away and then hire new people.
In addition , some people also pointed out that although FancyTech claims to be an AIGC company externally, but in fact when doing project interaction, more is to meet the needs of customers through human form. After listening to the podcast sharing of the founder of FancyTech, some netizens lamented: 'The way AI lands is to connect human brains with network cables. This is the earliest landed humanoid robot in the galaxy, which can eat by itself, and parents will pull it back to save it if it is ill.'
Some people said, 'Is this company still alive? What AI, it's all manual, listen to him bragging.' It is known that FancyTech had nothing to do with AI at the beginning. In 2022, it was mainly manual delivery, and after the AI tuyere in 2023, it did publicity and then became an AI company.
Under the one-sided public opinion pressure in the comment area, not long after the podcast content was released, the podcast interview between Qu Kai and the founder of FancyTech, William, was quickly deleted.
A mess, did Zhu Xiaohu misjudge?
Regarding the matter that FancyTech is accused of lacking employee care, a former employee of FancyTech said to Sina Technology: 'This boss doesn't know how many employees have been told to 'go to die'. This person disclosed that he chose to leave precisely because he couldn't stand the company's culture lacking employee care.
Regarding the matter that the company is accused of 'not enough AI, use manpower to make up', the founder of FancyTech, William, recently publicly stated: 'The AI content output of Fancytech still cannot do without the participation of humans and advertising companies in the initial stage of docking needs and creative conception'. In addition, the company's focus on providing AI finished content to customers rather than the technical path choice also leaves room for such operations.
Why did such a company get Zhu Xiaohu's appreciation?
According to Zhu Xiaohu's previous introduction, in 2023, FancyTech's revenue reached more than 50 million, which increased by five or six times compared to when he invested in 2022. Out of support for his invested company's business, he introduced companies such as Starbucks and LVMH to FancyTech.
In Zhu Xiaohu's investment logic, for an artificial intelligence enterprise to start a business, it needs to focus on the scenarios that can be commercialized immediately, and not necessarily how strong the technical ability is. In the previous sharing, he has repeatedly stated, 'Sora is very powerful, but it can't be commercialized currently, and the same is true for Midjourney. The FancyTech we invested in is a very typical one that focuses on the commercializable scenarios, The AIGC video advertising effect is particularly good, and it can be monetized immediately.'
But behind the pursuit of commercial realization, through maximizing the exploitation of employees to provide services and then providing business in the name of AI, is it really worthy of the boasting of investors and business leaders again and again?
This article comes from WeChat official account: Sina Technology (ID: techsina), author: Zhou Wenmeng, original title Zhu Xiaohu 'bets' on this AI company, 'go to die' has actually become the founder's m antra?