'This Guy Straight Up Stole Post...' - Gurugram Startup CEO Faces Strong Backlash On Social Media For Copying Viral Post

Vihan Pratap Singh, the Founder and CEO of Gurugram-based startup Blackrose, is facing sharp criticism online after social media users accused him of copying a viral post originally authored by a US-based entrepreneur.

Singh’s LinkedIn post, published on Sunday, June 29, dwelt on the theme of “outsourced thinking” among young professionals. But what was projected as a thought-provoking reflection came in the of social media storm. 

“Just had a fascinating brunch with a 22-year-old IIT-B CS grad. Sharp guy. Perfect resume. Something felt off though. He kept pausing mid-sentence, searching for words. Not complex words - basic ones. Like his brain was buffering. Finally asked if he was okay. His response floored me, stated Singh in his post.

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Users across platforms pointed out that Singh’s post was a plagiarised message shared months ago by Greg Isenberg, a well-known tech founder and advisor, on X (formerly Twitter).

"Sometimes I forget words now. I'm so used to having ChatGPT complete my thoughts that when it's not there, my brain feels... slower. He'd been using AI for everything. Writing, thinking, communication. It had become his external brain. And now his internal one was getting weaker. Made me think about calculators. Remember how teachers said we needed to learn math because "you won't always have a calculator"? They were wrong about that. But maybe they were right about something deeper," added the post. 

As of Monday afternoon, Singh’s LinkedIn post had received over 573 reactions and comments—many of them calling out the post as a “copy-paste job” and criticising the CEO for lacking originality.

“We're running the first large-scale experiment on human cognition. What happens when an entire generation outsources their thinking? Don’t get me wrong, I’m beyond excited about what AI and AI agents will do for people. But thinking out loud you got to think this guy I met with isn't the only one that's going to be completely dependent on AI. Have you experienced any cognitive decline since you've started using AI tools, the post further added. 

The only difference in Singh’s version was a change of reference from a "Stanford student" to an "IIT student." Beyond that, much of the phrasing and structure remained identical to Isenberg’s original post from December 2024. At the time of writing, Singh has not responded publicly to the allegations, nor has he taken down the contentious post. Isenberg, whose original words sparked this controversy, has also not issued a statement.