"Employees at a recently acquired startup are given an option between working on weekends or opting for a buyout equivalent to nine months of salary for their 200-strong team."
In a recent move, AI coding startup Cognition has acquired fellow AI startup Windsurf, marking a significant expansion for the company. The deal, which was closed last month, included Windsurf’s intellectual property, product, and staff, although the exact price remains undisclosed.
However, the acquisition has led to a substantial change for the Windsurf team. Cognition is offering buyouts to the approximately 200-person team, equivalent to nine months' salary, as the acquisition was primarily focused on Windsurf’s intellectual property rather than its entire talent pool. This move comes after Cognition laid off 30 employees shortly after the acquisition, indicating a cultural reset and downsizing.
For those who choose to stay, Cognition demands very demanding working conditions. Employees are required to work six days per week and more than 80 hours weekly. CEO Scott Wu explicitly stated that the company does not believe in work-life balance, framing this intense work culture as a mission-critical commitment to "building the future of software engineering."
This grind-or-quit approach reflects a broader trend in the competitive AI startup space, where extreme hours and relentless work ethic have become common. Cognition is known for its extreme performance culture, a fact that CEO Wu acknowledged in a post on X. The company asserts that it has built the first AI software engineer that can act autonomously to engage with users through Slack and GitHub.
Meanwhile, another major player in the AI industry, OpenAI, is reportedly acquiring Jony Ive's startup for $6.5 billion. However, a deal between Windsurf and OpenAI fell apart in early July, with the rest of Windsurf ultimately being acquired by Cognition on July 14.
Windsurf, which boasts over a million worldwide users, has seen a significant shift following the acquisition. Employees have until August 10 to decide to stay or take the buyout. Google, on the other hand, agreed to pay $2.4 billion for nonexclusive licensing rights to Windsurf’s technology and access to Windsurf talent.
The typical buyout starts at four weeks of pay, plus an additional week for every year spent at the company. However, the nine months' salary offer by Cognition is a higher buyout than usual, reflecting the company’s strategy to reshape the Windsurf team rapidly, prioritizing accelerated output over employee work-life balance to consolidate their position in the AI coding tool market.
CEO Scott Wu believes in the importance of the company’s mission and does not prioritize work-life balance, a stance that has been met with mixed reactions from the Windsurf team. As the deadline for the buyout decision approaches, the future of the Windsurf team remains uncertain, with many employees weighing the pros and cons of staying in the demanding work environment or taking the buyout and moving on.
- The acquisition of Windsurf by AI coding startup Cognition has marked a substantial expansion for the company, which includes Windsurf’s intellectual property, product, and staff, although the exact price remains undisclosed.
- In the aftermath of the acquisition, Cognition is offering buyouts to the approximately 200-person Windsurf team, equivalent to nine months' salary, as the acquisition was primarily focused on Windsurf’s intellectual property rather than its entire talent pool.
- Cognition's demands very demanding working conditions, with employees required to work six days per week and more than 80 hours weekly, reflecting the company’s extreme performance culture.
- The acquisition of Windsurf by Cognition is a part of a broader trend in the competitive AI startup space, where extreme hours and relentless work ethic have become common.
- Google has agreed to pay $2.4 billion for nonexclusive licensing rights to Windsurf’s technology and access to Windsurf talent, while the company’s employees have until August 10 to decide to stay or take the buyout offered by Cognition.
- CEO Scott Wu's stance on not prioritizing work-life balance has been met with mixed reactions from the Windsurf team, creating uncertainty about the future of the team as the deadline for the buyout decision approaches.
