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

*Email us your questions or topics for Kelli & Nolan: [email protected]

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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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