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New Windsurf CEO Jeff Wang recounts a frantic weekend of dealmaking to save the startup: 'I was on the verge of tears'
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AI编码初创公司Windsurf经历了一个戏剧性的周末。原定以30亿美元被OpenAI收购的交易突然告吹,随后其CEO及多名高管被Google挖走。然而,在短短48小时内,Windsurf迅速与估值40亿美元的AI公司Cognition达成新的合作协议。Windsurf新任CEO Jeff Wang在X平台上分享了这一惊心动魄的过程,强调了在竞争激烈的AI行业中,快速决策和适应能力的重要性。尽管初期面临员工的担忧和沮丧,但新的合作不仅为Windsurf的产品线带来了互补,也为公司员工提供了保障,最终以一个圆满的结局收尾,充分展现了AI领域的瞬息万变与机遇。

🚀 **交易的剧烈波动**:AI编码初创公司Windsurf在短短一个周末内,经历了从接近被OpenAI以30亿美元收购到CEO及高管被Google挖角的巨大变故,显示了AI行业交易的极高不确定性和速度。

💡 **新的战略合作**:在OpenAI交易失败后,Windsurf迅速与另一家AI公司Cognition达成协议。Cognition是AI软件工程师Devin的开发者,此次合作被视为双赢,Windsurf的同步代理技术能补充Devin的异步需求,同时双方在人才方面也具有协同效应。

⚖️ **以人为本的交易**:在与Cognition的谈判中,Windsurf优先考虑了员工的利益,包括确保薪酬支付、豁免等待期以及加速股权兑现,这在快速变动的交易环境中尤为重要,体现了对团队的责任感。

⏱️ **闪电般的交易速度**:整个与Cognition的交易过程在极短的时间内完成,从初步接触到签署意向书仅用时24小时,最终在周一上午完成最终敲定,一位律师称这是其见过最快的交易之一,凸显了AI领域决策的效率。

🎉 **团队士气的逆转**:在经历最初的低迷和不确定性后,新的合作协议的达成以及对员工利益的保障,使得Windsurf团队的情绪得以极大的提振,从最初的沮丧转变为庆祝,展示了强大的韧性和积极的转变。

Windsurf, an AI coding startup, saw deals fall apart and come together, all in a single weekend.

In the ultra-competitive world of artificial intelligence, dealmaking sometimes must be a frantic, around-the-clock affair.

The recent deal between AI startup Windsurf and Cognition, which took place over a single weekend sprint, was no exception.

To sum it up: The industry's most successful AI startup, OpenAI, was initially set to acquire Windsurf, which makes an AI coding assistant, in a $3 billion deal. But the deal fell through, and Google swooped in to hire away its CEO and some of its top executives.

That left the company's remaining executives scrambling to figure out what to do next and to break the news to the company's 250 employees, who were anticipating a windfall from the OpenAI deal.

"It was my job to explain to the company our path forward," Windsurf's new CEO, Jeff Wang, wrote in a post on X. Wang was formerly the company's head of business. He had planned to discuss the options — fundraising from VCs, selling the company to someone else, distributing remaining cash, or just keeping it going.

"The mood was very bleak," Wang wrote. "Some people were upset about financial outcomes or colleagues leaving, while others were worried about the future. A few were in tears."

Later that day, a ray of light emerged. Wang said Cognition cofounder Scott Wu, and its president, Russell Kaplan, reached out. They wanted what was left of Windsurf.

Cognition makes the AI coding agent Devin, which it calls "the first AI software engineer." It is valued at $4 billion, coming off a $120 million funding round in March, according to PitchBook.

Wang saw the melding of the company's products as a potential win-win.

"Devin would benefit from a foreground synchronous agent, while we needed a remote asynchronous agent," he wrote. Added to that, he was excited about both companies sharing talent.

The dealmaking kicked off immediately. They brought in lawyers and spent all weekend hashing it out.

In just over 24 hours, they had signed a letter of intent, the first step. A key part of the deal was prioritizing Windsurf employees — ensuring payouts, waiving cliffs, and accelerating equity vesting, Wang said.

Lawyers pored over the deal all day Sunday, and by Monday morning, it was finalized. One lawyer called the deal "one of the fastest" they had ever seen, Wang wrote.

When the deal was at last announced to Windsurf's employees Monday morning, Wang said they celebrated.

"The applause from our people seemed to last forever, and I was on the verge of tears myself," Wang said.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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