On a summer day in Santa Clara, California, a variety of luxury cars — Porsches, Corvettes, Lamborghinis, some freshly painted in the same lime green as Nvidia’s logo — sat in a parking lot that once held more modest vehicles, and they were parked where their owners wanted to go: to their offices.
Nvidia’s shares have risen 3,776% since the beginning of 2019. The company makes its money selling key chips needed for artificial intelligence, creating a host of billionaires in the process. But current and former employees say the hours are as grueling and stressful as ever, with little time for the jet-setting, home-buying and leisure activities that many can now afford. A culture problem is brewing, said 10 people, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation.
