Three weeks after acquiring Windsurf, Cognition offered nine‑month paid buyouts and laid off ~30 employees amid integration friction.
According to The Information, Cognition, the AI coding startup that acquired rival Windsurf three weeks ago, terminated 30 employees last week and provided buyouts to the approximately 200 remaining employees.
This is the most recent whiplash that Windsurf employees have encountered following a period of turmoil for the company.
Initially, the startup was on the brink of being acquired by OpenAI. Subsequently, it lost its CEO, co-founder, and research leads to Google in a $2.4 billion reverse-acquihire transaction, in which Google hired the key talent rather than purchasing the company. Ultimately, Cognition acquired the startup.
Cognition announced that all Windsurf employees would receive financial compensation as part of the acquisition. The company was enthusiastic about collaborating with Windsurf’s “world-class people” to create cutting-edge coding tools.
It is evident that Windsurf’s intellectual property, rather than its talent, was the true acquisition.
Employees were granted until August 10 to determine whether they desired to participate in the buyout, which represents nine months of salary, as indicated by an email that The Information reviewed.
Those who opt to remain are reportedly obligated to work over 80 hours per week and spend six days at the office, which are becoming standard operating procedures for employees at the most prominent AI companies.
“We are not in favor of work-life balance; the future of software engineering is a mission that is dear to all of us, and we are unable to separate the two,” stated Scott Wu, CEO of Cognition, in an email.