🧟♂️ AI Startups: The Zombie Apocalypse You Didn’t See Coming
Big Tech Talent Buffet 🍽️
Forget buying companies—Big Tech is buying people. Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon are poaching AI talent left and right, spending billions to snatch the brains behind the hottest startups. The result? Startups become zombies: still walking around but missing their soul (and staff).
Case in Point – Windsurf 🌊
OpenAI wanted Windsurf for $3B. Deal fell through. Google swooped in, plucked the CEO and key staff for $2.4B. The rest? Left behind. Later, Cognition grabbed the remaining scraps for $250M—less than 10% of the original price. Ouch.
Other Casualties 💀
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Meta “borrowed” the CEO of Scale AI and then cut 200 employees.
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Microsoft snatched co-founders from Inflection AI.
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Amazon recruited top talent from Adept and Covariant.
Startup Zombies 🧟♀️
The moral? Startups are now living-dead—still on the map but drained of their best people. Innovation? Kinda on hold. Culture? Mostly just echoes in empty offices.
Bottom Line:
Big Tech wins the AI race by grabbing brains, but the startup ecosystem is left in zombie mode. So next time you hear about a flashy AI startup, check if it’s actually alive… or just wandering around waiting for someone to hire its brain. 🧠
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