AI startup's acquisition leads to brutal layoffs, buyouts
Cognition Labs just let go of 30 Windsurf employees after buying the AI startup and offered buyouts (with nine months' pay) to 200 more.
Those who stay face a six-day, 80-hour work week—CEO Scott Wu says their "mission-driven" culture doesn't really allow for work-life balance.
Windsurf was almost acquired by OpenAI before Google stepped in
Windsurf, making $82 million a year, almost got acquired by OpenAI but that fell through thanks to Microsoft's concerns.
Google then licensed Windsurf's tech for $2.4 billion and hired its top leaders.
Cognition Labs picked up the rest of the team—giving them four years' worth of unvested equity but also ramping up work expectations.
Reverse acqui-hire
Unlike typical tech deals, this was a rare "reverse acqui-hire"—Google took Windsurf's technology and leadership while Cognition Labs got most of the employees.
Now those folks are adjusting to Cognition's intense pace.