India, June 16 -- An AI intern at a startup was unexpectedly fired after sending a WhatsApp message requesting a performance-based raise. Despite building the company's Small Language Model (SLM) infrastructure from scratch, cutting inference costs by 95%, and securing seven clients, the intern's negotiation attempt was treated as a personal betrayal. The manager abruptly terminated the internship, citing a "mismatch in expectations," while the CEO later lectured the student for being "money-minded." Refusing to beg for the low-paying role, the intern now plans to demand their experience certificate and walk away from the toxic startup culture.

"Fired from my internship over a single WhatsApp Message," the Reddit user wrote.

The intern ...