The $3B Windsurf acquisition by OpenAI just fell apart, and Google swooped in to cherry-pick the top talent. The result? Angry employees left behind and another brutal reminder of how messy Silicon Valley’s AI talent wars have become.
Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein discuss why big tech is abandoning traditional acquisitions in favor of “acqui-raids,” strip-mining startups for their best people while leaving the rest behind.
What does this mean for startup employees betting on equity? And is this trend dangerous for Silicon Valley’s future?
In this clip:
* Why OpenAI’s Windsurf acquisition failed and Google won instead
* How “acqui-raids” are changing startup culture and morale
* Why big tech is avoiding full acquisitions due to antitrust scrutiny
* What founders and employees should know before joining an AI startup today
Clip from Reacts episode 'AI Chaos: Meta & Google Poach Talent from Apple & OpenAI + Elon's Grok-4 Havoc, Intel Admits Defeat': https://youtu.be/jJwEhSyvnWg
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