GoKawiilY Combinator’s famed CEO Garry Tan told a SXSW audience that he’s got “cyber psychosis” and is barely sleeping because he’s so excited to be working with AI agents.
“I sleep, like, four hours a night right now,” he told his interviewer, fellow VC Bill Gurley, during an on-stage interview Saturday. “I have cyber psychosis, but I think a third of the CEOs that I know have it as well,” he joked about his current AI obsession. (At least, we hope he was joking. AI-induced psychosis can actually be a dangerous condition.)
“Once you try it, you’ll realize: it’s like I was able to recreate my startup that took $10 million in VC capital and 10 people, and I worked on that for two years, and I took anti-narcoleptics — I remember, you know, sort of being on modafinil,” he described, referencing the sleep-preventing drug that’s popular with the startup hustle-culture crowd. (Tan sold his Y Combinator-backed blogging startup Posterous, to Twitter back in 2012.)
But now, his psyche is so amped working with AI agents, it’s a natural insomnia.
“I don’t need modafinil with this revolution. Like, I’m up. I slept at 4 a.m. I woke up at 8 a.m,” he said. “I wanted to sleep more, but I couldn’t because: let’s see what’s going on with the 10 workers. I’ve got like three different projects going right now.”
He’s so excited about his agents that on March 12, just two days before the interview, he proudly, freely shared his Claude Code (CC) setup on Github under an open source license. The setup included six “opinionated” Claude Code skills he developed. Skills are reusable prompts stored in special “skill.md” files that instruct the AI how to behave in specific roles or tasks.
“I’ve been having such an amazing time with Claude Code, I wanted you to be able to have my *exact* skill setup,” he posted on X. He called his Claude Code setup “gstack.”
Techcrunch event Disrupt 2026: The tech ecosystem, all in one room Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $400. Save up to $300 or 30% to TechCrunch Founder Summit 1,000+ founders and investors come together at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 for a full day focused on growth, execution, and real-world scaling. Learn from founders and investors who have shaped the industry. Connect with peers navigating similar growth stages. Walk away with tactics you can apply immediately
Offer ends March 13. San Francisco, CA | REGISTER NOW
... continue reading