Inside the Sleep Routines of Three Young AI Startup Founders

A four-day observational study documented the nightly habits of three young AI startup founders. Lance Yan, who runs Traverse, reported erratic sleep ranging from three to six hours, frequently working late and scrolling on his phone before finally falling asleep. Kavitta Ghai, co-founder of the ed-tech company Nectir, adheres to a disciplined routine that guarantees roughly seven hours of sleep, aided by magnesium supplements, a cool bedroom temperature and a Whoop sleep tracker, and she avoids all-nighters.

Boris Skurikhin, co-founder of Docket, prefers to unwind with documentaries or long YouTube videos, achieving between seven and eight hours of sleep each night. The study also noted each founder’s personal reflections on how sleep—or the lack of it—impacts their productivity and health. Their varied approaches illustrate the broader cultural split in Silicon Valley between bio-hackers who prioritize rest and hustlers who sacrifice it for work.