Once in talks to be acquired by OpenAI for $3 billion earlier this year, AI coding startup Windsurf announced it is now part of $4 billion artificial intelligence company Cognition, after a takeover three weeks ago.
The acquisition brought roughly 200 Windsurf employees under Cognition's control, and those employees have been given a choice: commit to an intense schedule of six days in the office and more than 80 hours per week, or accept a buyout worth nine months' of salary, The Information reports.
Cognition CEO Scott Wu Says Culture is Built on "Extreme Performance"
Cognition CEO Scott Wu told employees in an internal email that "we don't believe in work-life balance — building the future of software engineering is a mission we all care so deeply about that we couldn't possibly separate the two," according to The Information.
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Wu later posted on X that Cognition has "an extreme performance culture" and is upfront about expectations during hiring. "We routinely are at the office through the weekend and do some of our best work late into the night," Wu wrote. "Many of us literally live where we work. 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."
Windsurf's Tumultuous Path to Acquisition
Founded with the goal of creating "the most powerful way to code with AI," Windsurf says it has amassed more than a million users worldwide. Its features include Cascade, a deep codebase analysis tool, and Tab, an autocomplete function that integrates into coding workflows.
Before the Cognition deal, Windsurf was in acquisition talks with OpenAI for $3 billion, Entrepreneur says, though those negotiations collapsed in July. Days later, Google agreed to pay $2.4 billion for nonexclusive licensing rights to Windsurf's technology and to hire former Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen, and several researchers. The remainder of Windsurf's staff and assets were acquired by Cognition on July 14.
"After today, our efforts will be as a united and aligned team. There's only one boat and we're all in it together," Wu wrote in a memo sent to staff, The Information reports.
Windsurf interim-CEO Jeff Wang said in the company's acquisition announcement that Cognition was the "obvious right choice" to lead the next chapter for the AI coding startup. He added that Cognition was "the only team we were scared of" and "the one we have respected the most" among AI companies, calling the $4 billion firm a "perfect fit" to take Windsurf into its next phase.
Cognition's flagship product, Devin, is billed as the first autonomous software engineer, able to interact with users through Slack and GitHub to handle complex codebases, Entrepreneur says.
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According to Windsurf, Wu's acquisition strategy brings Windsurf's integrated development environment under the same umbrella as Devin, enabling engineering teams to plan tasks, delegate work to Devin, complete complex components themselves, and have the results assembled in a single environment.
Generous Payouts and Long Hours Define Windsurf's New Chapter Under Cognition
The nine-month severance package is significantly higher than the typical tech buyout of four weeks plus an additional week per year of service, according to CNBC. Entrepreneur says that some view Cognition's demands as proof of its drive to innovate at breakneck speed, while others warn the pace could push talent away.
Cognition has raised more than $300 million from investors, including Founders Fund, and reached unicorn status earlier this year.
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