Who is Hari Raghavan? Stanford-educated NRI entrepreneur and CEO sparks outrage over comments on Indian work ethics; netizens ask him to...

An Indian-American entrepreneur, Hari Raghavan, has sparked a major controversy on social media by claiming that Indian workers have poor work ethics. His comments came while defending Optifye.ai, a controversial AI startup that monitors factory workers’ activities.

Raghavan’s views on Indian workers

Raghavan, the co-founder and CEO of Autograph, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his views. He claimed that Indian employees need constant supervision, are not diligent, and often take shortcuts.

"I grew up in India, and I don't think y'all understand how unreliable the work ethic of the average Indian employee is," he wrote. He argued that this was why Optifye.ai’s AI-powered worker monitoring tool was relevant for India.

Look, the factory monitoring video was cringe but...

I grew up in India and I don't think y'all understand how unreliable the work ethic of the average Indian employee is. I don't think it's an accident that the company has a bunch of Indian founders and my guess is that they're…

— hari (@haridigresses) February 26, 2025

He also shared personal experiences, comparing work efficiency in India and the US. He cited examples from his parents’ experience of building a house in Chennai, where workers allegedly disappeared without notice, delaying construction. He also claimed that while consulting firms in the US completed tasks in three days, similar work in Indian firms took nearly two months.

Defending AI surveillance

Despite backlash against Optifye.ai in the US for promoting "dystopian" surveillance, Raghavan argued that monitoring workers was necessary in India. He stated that India's economic growth was hindered by weak work ethics and that tools like Optifye.ai could improve productivity.

He made three points:

1. Work Ethics and Economic Growth – India’s progress is slow due to weak work discipline. Monitoring tools could help increase efficiency.

2. Monitoring vs. Exploitation – In India, factory worker supervision is not exploitation but a necessity.

3. Performance-Oriented Culture – To develop rapidly, India must focus on accountability and high performance.

Social media backlash

Raghavan’s comments triggered a fierce reaction online. Many users slammed him for being insensitive and accused him of defending worker exploitation.

One user wrote: "Indian workers spend crazy hours on factory floors for low wages and no protection. Just shut up."

Another commented: "Try working in their shoes. You wouldn't last a day."

Who is Hari Raghavan

Hari Raghavan is a Stanford graduate and co-founder of Autograph, a people intelligence platform. He holds a degree from Northwestern University in Psychology, Political Science, and Mathematical Methods in Social Sciences.