‘Turbocharge your efforts’: Google co-founder Sergey Brin pushes for 60-hour workweek as Google fights to lead AI race

Google's co-founder Sergey Brin is doubling down on Google's ambitions in artificial intelligence (AI), urging employees to commit to longer work hours as competition in the AI space intensifies.

In an internal memo to staff working on Gemini, Google's AI division, Brin recommended spending every weekday in the office and suggested that a 60-hour workweek is the optimal level for productivity, according to The New York Times, which had seen a copy of the memo. According to Brin, intense work hours are essential to Google’s efforts to dominate the race toward artificial general intelligence (AGI)—the next frontier in AI development.

“The final race to AGI is afoot,” Brin wrote. “I believe we have everything needed to win, but we must turbocharge our efforts.”

While encouraging employees to maximise their time in the office, Brin also took a firm stance on work ethic. He reportedly expressed concern about employees who contribute the bare minimum, warning that their presence could be “highly demoralizing” for colleagues.

However, he cautioned against exceeding the 60-hour mark, acknowledging the risk of burnout.

Brin’s directive does not alter Google’s official hybrid work policy, which currently requires employees to be in the office at least three days a week, pointed out NYT. However, it signals a more aggressive approach as the company works to keep pace with rivals such as OpenAI and Elon Musk's X, along with a handful of startups, such as Aravind Srinivas' Perplexity AI, who have all made rapid advancements in generative AI.

More than American peers, there is now also the big threat from China, with its latest DeepSeek model upending the American AI ecosystem.

Since OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, Google has scrambled to maintain its foothold in the AI sector. Brin, who stepped away from day-to-day operations at parent company Alphabet in 2019, has since returned to take a more active role in shaping the company’s AI strategy. He has spent considerable time at DeepMind, Google's premier AI research division, and played a key role in the development of Gemini, the company’s answer to OpenAI’s technology.

Brin’s renewed involvement also comes at a time when AI development is under intense scrutiny.

Google's AI products, including Gemini, have faced setbacks, such as controversy over an AI-generated image tool that produced historically inaccurate depictions. Meanwhile, the broader tech industry is seeing a shift back to in-person work, with companies like Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, and AT&T mandating five-day office workweeks.

As the race to AGI heats up, Brin's message is clear: the future of AI will belong to those willing to put in the hours.