Emergency pod: Returning guest Peter Walker (Carta's Head of Insights) analyze the controversial Windsurf deal, where Google's acqui-hire left non-founder employees without equity payout. They unpack the deal, reference Character AI's precedent, and explore how AI-era deals increasingly prioritize top researchers over broader employee bases, fundamentally changing startup risk calculations
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KEEP UP WITH PETER, NOLAN + KELLI ON LINKEDIN
Peter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjameswalker/
Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/
Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/
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RELATED LINKS:
Windsurf’s CEO goes to Google; OpenAI’s acquisition falls apart
https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/14/cognition-maker-of-the-ai-coding-agent-devin-acquires-windsurf/
Carta:
https://carta.com/
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Intro
(00:52) Breaking News: The Windsurf Situation
(01:12) The OpenAI-Microsoft IP Rights Drama
(03:01) Plot Twist: Cognition's Counter-Offer
(04:49) The Employee Equity Problem
(06:00) Defending Against "That's How Deals Work" Critics
(08:00) The Scarlet Letter Effect
(10:00) Regulatory Background: The Lina Khan Era
(12:00) Revealed Behavior: What This Shows About Values
(13:25) Sponsors: Planful | Metaview
(17:00) Talent vs. Product Separation
(19:53) The AI Era's R&D Researcher Obsession
(22:00) Unequal Distribution of Outcomes
(23:28) What Comes Next: Evaluating Startup Risk
(24:00) The Founder Psychology Bet
(25:00) Equity Structure Solutions
(28:58) Becoming AI Native: Personal Brand Strategy
(30:56) The New Reality: Expecting Less Care
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