VC: Founders Are Dumping Their Own Companies for AI Labs in the 'Mercenary Era'
dhruv2038 · x · 2026-09-30
Early-stage investor nikunj shares two candid takes on the current AI market. On people: missionaries are harder than ever to find — cofounders are leaving their own companies for the "obvious winners," public CEOs are jumping to labs, and acquisitions like Windsurf's only let a select few employees join the "future company." Founders raise tranched valuations without caring that subsequent 409A pricing makes early exercising impossible for employees. Since early-stage VCs bet on people, companies left behind often become shells: "it seems like a great time to be a mercenary." On defensibility: the thread is truncated, with only the opening visible.
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