Is $500,000 no longer enough in San Francisco? A VC’s viral post exposes anxiety inside the AI boom

A viral social media post by venture capitalist Deedy Das has triggered debate over growing inequality and anxiety inside San Francisco’s AI-driven tech economy. In the widely shared post, Das argued that a small group of employees at companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI and Nvidia have accumulated extraordinary wealth from the AI boom while many other tech workers earning under $500,000 a year increasingly fear they may never reach similar financial success. The post has fuelled fears that AI is creating a new ‘permanent underclass’ in Silicon Valley.

Tech workers earning under $500K fear becoming AI’s ‘permanent underclass’

Das described the mood in San Francisco as “frenetic” and deeply unequal. According to his estimates, roughly 10,000 people tied to the AI boom, including founders and employees at major AI companies, have reached wealth levels exceeding $20 million over the past five years.

He argued that workers outside that elite group increasingly feel trapped despite having highly paid careers.
“Everyone outside that group feels like they can work their well-paying (but <$500k) job for their whole life and never get there,” Das wrote.

The post quickly spread across social media because it captured growing fears among tech workers about economic inequality, layoffs and the long-term impact of AI on employment.

For most Americans, earning several hundred thousand dollars a year would be considered extraordinary wealth. However, Das argued that Silicon Valley’s economic culture has become heavily distorted by the AI boom.
He wrote that what would be considered wealthy “anywhere else in the world” now feels “bang average” inside parts of the Bay Area tech ecosystem.

The concern is not simply about lifestyle or luxury. Many workers fear they may be permanently locked out of the massive fortunes being created by AI companies.

According to Das, some younger workers have started describing themselves as a possible “permanent underclass” compared with the small AI elite becoming extraordinarily wealthy through stock ownership and startup growth.

AI layoffs and career fears are adding to the anxiety

The post also highlighted growing fears that artificial intelligence could reduce the value of many traditional tech jobs.

Large technology companies have collectively laid off more than 150,000 workers since 2022 according to reporting referenced from The New York Times. At the same time, AI tools are rapidly changing the daily work of software engineers, designers and corporate employees.

Das argued that many workers now feel uncertain about whether their current skills will remain valuable in the near future.

He wrote that some employees no longer see the traditional corporate ladder as a reliable path to long-term success. Instead, many are trying to join top AI firms, launch startups or position themselves around fast-growing AI technologies.

The ‘permanent underclass’ fear

The phrase “permanent underclass” has become increasingly associated with AI discussions inside Silicon Valley.
The idea gained attention partly through essays written by former OpenAI employee Leopold Aschenbrenner, who warned that future AI systems may eventually become capable of performing advanced AI research themselves.

Some workers fear this could create a future where a small group controlling powerful AI companies accumulates enormous wealth while many white-collar professionals struggle to remain economically relevant.
Das suggested this fear is now psychologically affecting many workers across the Bay Area tech industry.

Even some AI winners feel unhappy

One of the more surprising parts of Das’s post was his claim that even many newly wealthy AI workers are struggling emotionally.

He argued that some people who suddenly accumulated tens of millions of dollars experienced a loss of purpose after achieving financial freedom at a young age.

According to Das, some wealthy founders continue launching companies mainly for status, influence or social relevance rather than financial necessity.

He also suggested that constant comparison inside Silicon Valley’s hypercompetitive culture contributes to dissatisfaction even among successful people.

The discussion highlighted how rapidly AI is transforming the technology industry and how deeply those changes are affecting the psychology of workers inside Silicon Valley’s high-pressure economy.