Another day, another tech bro flexing his “hustle culture” muscles in Silicon Valley. 🙄

Cognition’s CEO Scott Wu just dropped the most unhinged job ultimatum we’ve seen this week: either commit to an 80-hour work week or take a generous buyout. In a world where work-life balance is already a myth, Wu is basically asking his new Windsurf employees to surrender their entire existence to the altar of AI development.

The Grind Never Stops

Wu’s email to employees reads like a cult manifesto: “We don’t believe in work-life balance” - because apparently, building software is a religious experience that demands total devotion. He’s proudly declaring that his team “routinely” works weekends and does their “best work” at ungodly hours. Translation? Prepare to live, breathe, and probably dream in code.

The Price of Ambition

The deal? Nine months of pay if you choose to bounce. Wu’s basically offering a golden ticket out of his tech thunderdome. And let’s be real, for many workers, that sounds infinitely more appealing than becoming a code zombie.

The Bigger Picture

This isn’t just about one startup’s toxic culture. It’s a snapshot of the AI industry’s relentless pursuit of “innovation” - where human beings are treated more like algorithms than actual people. Wu might believe he’s building the future, but he’s really just perpetuating a system that burns out talented professionals faster than you can say “machine learning”.

In the end, Wu’s ultimatum reveals a stark truth: in tech, your humanity is negotiable, and your worth is measured in lines of code and sleepless nights. Welcome to Silicon Valley, where dreams are coded and souls are optional.