IITian CEO says his AI startup is being extorted for $3 million with leaked data: 'Threatening to...'

Varun Vummadi, co-founder and CEO of Giga, also shared a screenshot of an email allegedly sent by the group, which threatened broader disclosure if the demands were not met.

Indian-origin entrepreneur Varun Vummadi, co-founder and CEO of San Francisco–based AI startup Giga, has alleged that his company is being blackmailed for $3 million through the misuse of confidential internal data. In an X post, Vummadi, an IIT Kharagpur alumnus, has claimed that a small group of individuals “illegally obtained” company files and is now demanding payment in cryptocurrency to prevent the release of what he described as “manipulated and defamatory” information.

“They have already posted information on Twitter that is false and defamatory,” Vummadi wrote. “They are threatening to take snippets of this data, manipulate it out of context, and release it to the public with wildly false allegations unless we wire $3M to an anonymous crypto account.”

He also shared a screenshot of an email allegedly sent by the group, which threatened broader disclosure if the demands were not met.

Giga is being extorted for $3Million and we want to set the record straight. There have been a lot of false allegations about Giga on Twitter recently. They are being made by a small group of individuals that has illegally obtained confidential company information and is now… pic.twitter.com/sLiTuUuHez

— Varun Vummadi (@varunvummadi) December 26, 2025

Company reports extortion attempt to law enforcement

Giga said it has notified law enforcement and indicated that it intends to pursue legal action. In a statement, the company said the emails came from an anonymous ProtonMail address and were part of “an extortion and blackmail attempt”.

“This is extortion, and we have notified law enforcement. If they continue with their illegal conduct, we will take further appropriate legal action,” the company said.

Vummadi said the timing of the attack follows heightened visibility after Giga’s $61 million Series A round announced in November 2025.

Former employees make public allegations

The extortion claim comes amid several public accusations from former staff, including ex-employee Jared Steele, who alleged unethical practices within the startup. Steele claimed Giga falsified revenue numbers, bribed Fortune 500 companies, enforced mandatory 12-hour shifts and failed to deliver promised compensation. He described the environment as “the most toxic” he had encountered and said he quit after one day.

Vummadi denied all allegations, calling them “wildly false and defamatory”, and claimed the data circulating online has been selectively misrepresented.