Cognition AI's Extreme Work Culture: Buyouts Offered to Former Windsurf Employees

This AI Startup Just Told Its Staff to Leave With a Check If They Can't Take the Heat

Now Cognition is in the spotlight again, not for another unexpected twist and turn in the acquisition saga, but because its CEO has made a surprising offer to the remaining Windsurf staff. Scott Wu has said Windsurf workers can leave, under favorable financial conditions, if they want. Given the fierce tussle between tech giants over who gets to hire the top AI engineering talent, this sounds odd. But Wu explained it quite simply: Windsurf staff who stay on can expect to suffer through "extreme" workplace conditions. Wu offered Windsurf's remaining 200-odd staff a buyout, after laying off 30 people, saying they would be able to receive nine months of pay on top of the cash they made as part of the July purchase of their company, news site The Information reported. It's an understandably tempting offer given that the alternative, per Wu's own words, are working for a company that doesn't "believe in work-life balance," where the average worker will "spend 6 days at the office" and regularly clock-up 80 hour-plus work weeks. In an X posting Wu went further, news site SFGate reported, explaining that he believed in an "extreme performance culture" where his staff regularly work through weekends and often achieve breakthroughs in the middle of the night. "Many of us literally live where we work," he wrote. As unsettling as this head-on rush to advance Cognition's ambitions seem, it's not exactly unprecedented in the AI jobs market. Just recently, a report revealed that in an effort to rival China's race to develop next-gen AI technology, many U.S. AI companies are pivoting to embrace the so-called "996" work plan. This grueling schedule, promoted by Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba's CEO Jack Ma, has workers laboring in the office 9 a.m to 9 p.m. six days a week (Monday to Saturday). Critics have branded the practice modern slavery since, allowing for some 8 hours of sleep and perhaps 2 hours of travel and chores per day, it essentially leaves workers with just 2 hours of free time per day for most of the week.

Work-life imbalance: After buying remnants of Windsurf, Cognition lays off 30, tells rest to work long hours - The Economic Times

Cognition CEO Scott Wu took to X to acknowledge that his company has an extreme work culture, which it is clear about from the start with all those who join. "We know that people who joined Windsurf didn't expect to join Cognition and while we're proud of how we work, we understand it's not for everyone," the post read.Employees of artificial intelligence (AI) coding startup Windsurf have endured a chaotic few months. The company almost got acquired by OpenAI, which fell through when Google hired the chief executive and key talent from the company. Ultimately, another coding startup, Cognition, acquired the company, assuring the staff that it valued their top-level talent. However, three weeks after the deal, Cognition laid off 30 employees and gave the rest a tough choice. Either take a buyout, where employees would take 9 months' salary and exit the company, or come to work 6 days a week and at least 80 hours a week. This is one of the extremes of the work-life debate active across the world, especially in India. Cognition CEO Scott Wu took to X to acknowledge that his company has an extreme work culture, which it is clear about from the start with all those who join. "We know that people who joined Windsurf didn't expect to join Cognition and while we're proud of how we work, we understand it's not for everyone," the post read. "We know that we will lose some strong talent in doing this, but we truly believe the level of intensity this moment demands from us is unprecedented. While not everyone is looking for a culture like ours, everyone deserves respect and appreciation for their work," he said. According to The Information, this extreme culture is not uncommon. Employees at other companies in Silicon Valley, such as AI hiring startup Mercor and coding assistant Anysphere, also work seven days a week. Though lauded for his transparency, this move by Wu has drawn criticism, sparking a debate about extreme work expectations, employee wellbeing, and the push-and-pull between the so-called hustle culture and work-life balance within the tech industry. Many came to his defence, responding to his post with messages of support that "startups are not for everyone". One user said, "Acquisitions work like that - either you fit in (you're welcome) or you don't." Cognition Labs or Cognition AI is a San Francisco-based AI company founded in 2023 by Wu, Steven Hao, and Walden Yan. Its best known product is Devin, described as the world's first AI "software engineer" capable of autonomously handling entire software engineering workflows from bug fixing to writing and submitting code. The company was most recently valued at $4 billion after a major funding deal led by 8VC in March, doubling its valuation following a $175 million fundraise in April 2024.