NEW: Meta’s multi-hundred million dollar comp offers and Google’s multi-billion dollar Character AI and Windsurf deals signal that we are in a crazy AI talent bubble. We’re entering a hypercapitalist era in tech — and, as @absoluttig explains, it will rewire the industry. The myth of the 10x engineer was quaint. Today we’re seeing *1000x* engineers — people whose contributions can materially change a company’s trajectory, and the trajectory of an entire industry. At these stakes, $20m/year or more for the right person isn’t insane. If AI is a $10 trillion+ opportunity, it actually makes sense to spend this much. But: this new regime breaks the social contract. Loyalty, founder gravity, and startup idealism are no match for this level of capital. A high-trust culture in startups is no longer a given. Not in an era of 9-figure checks. In this new world, fewer companies will get more funding and revenue, and fewer employees will get paid more. New labor dynamics will likely emerge on both sides of the table: agents for top engineers, unions for AI researchers, aggressive non-compete tactics. The social contracts between employees, startups, and investors are being rewritten. Only the fiercest founders and strongest missions will be able to offset intensely mercenary market forces. Here’s what that future will look like. Link threaded. 👇

Cognition has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Windsurf. The acquisition includes Windsurf’s IP, product, trademark and brand, and strong business. Above all, it includes Windsurf’s world-class people, whom we’re privileged to welcome to our team. We are also honoring their talent and hard work in building Windsurf into the great business it is today. This transaction is structured so that 100% of Windsurf employees will participate financially. They will also have all vesting cliffs waived and will receive fully accelerated vesting for their work to date. At Cognition we have focused on developing robust and secure autonomous agents, while Windsurf has pioneered the agentic IDE. Devin + Windsurf are a powerful combination for the developers we serve. Working side by side, we’ll soon enable you to plan tasks in an IDE powered by Devin’s codebase understanding, delegate chunks of work to multiple Devins in parallel, complete the highest-leverage parts yourself with the help of autocomplete, and stitch it all back together in the same IDE. Cognition and Windsurf are united behind a shared vision for the future of software engineering, and there’s never been a better time to build. Welcome to our new colleagues from Windsurf!

Part IV: The Kingdom

Part III: The Gospel

"In terms of what we are investing in now, it's really the anti-category, and it always has been." @scottnolan on @ShawnRyanShow

The Vigilance Elite Production of SRS EP. 211 with Scott Nolan is live on the Shawn Ryan Show YouTube channel!

Big news from Varda today We've been granted the first-ever FAA re-entry *operator* license Meaning we are able to fly our fleet without needing a license on a per mission basis AND we've shifted to our own in-house satellite bus with our next mission launching soon

2 thoughts on @tryramp’s new $16B valuation: 1) We’re growing faster than ever and somehow also shipping faster than ever 2) We’re powering finance for the fastest-growing AI companies in the world 👇

General Matter is enriching uranium for the US. We will revive nuclear fuel production in America. We chose to do this not because it’s easy, and not because it’s hard, but because it needs doing. Nothing gets made if fuel isn’t made. America’s ambitions, from manufacturing to AI, all require nuclear. It’s the only source of energy that is reliable, scalable, and clean. It’s not only our future but our present, powering almost half of our clean energy and roughly 20% of our grid today. But the US is forced to look abroad for our nuclear fuel. Despite pioneering the technology, we’ve since outsourced enrichment to allies, competitors, and even adversaries. We didn’t just give up the lead. We’re no longer even in the game. It’s time to enrich. For the past year, General Matter has been incubated within Founders Fund, with a team from SpaceX, Tesla, Anduril, national labs, and the DOD. We are undertaking an engineering challenge which, if successful, will fundamentally improve the trajectory of our nation. The raw material is embedded in the bedrock beneath our feet. America’s future is written in stone. We are turning our potential into power, and exceptional talent is needed. Join us.