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

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.