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I need someone to convince me this isn't one of the biggest waste of money on an acquisition. If OpenAI can't build an official IDE for less than 3 Billion then

I need someone to convince me this isn't one of the biggest waste of money on an acquisition. If OpenAI can't build an official IDE for less than 3 Billion then what are they even doing? Windsurf can't have that high of a userbase that you feel the need to pay for it.

ashish01 1y ago
> one of the biggest waste of money on an acquisition. I think that was when intel acquired McAfee for 8B in 2010.
- insane_dreamer 1y ago
  MSFT buying Nokia for $7B is runner up. But at least it could have worked if MSFT hadn't burned it down. Intel and McAfee makes no sense at all.
fazeirony 1y ago
you mean the company that spent $9B to make $4B in 2024? that openai? i agree with you on this - it seems that openai hallucinates reality as much as their products do :-/
singularity2001 1y ago
instinctively I agree but it's all about timing: if they try to build their own IDE and hired people it would probably still take a couple of years to get a decent product. I don't know about patents.
- mdaniel 1y ago
  > if they try to build their own IDE and hired people Oh, haven't you heard? Hiring people to write software is so last decade. Maybe they just didn't want to vibe code a Windsurf implementation and decided to buy a press cycle for $3B
JumpCrisscross 1y ago
We don’t know how OpenAI is paying. A lot of comments seem to be assuming this is an all-cash deal. We have no evidence for that.
- rchaud 1y ago
  These deals are mostly in stock, not cash. $3b cash is not something most companies can afford to part with, and additionally, making deals that are stock-heavy creates an incentive for the leadership of the acquired company to keep working towards the general interest of OAI, and not instantly retire.
  - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
    > These deals are mostly in stock, not cash How are you defining “these deals”? Most acquisitions of startup by larger companies in America over the last decade, at least, have been all cash.
    - rchaud 1y ago
      I'd define them as a large company acquiring a private startup. Slack >> Salesforce was a cash-and-stock deal. Postmaters >> Uber, all stock. In cases where the company being acquired is already publicly traded, those deals would have to be all cash as their shareholders would need to be bought out. IBM paid cash for Hashicorp, and Doordash will acquire Deliveroo in cash.
      - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
        > I'd define them as a large company acquiring a private startup. Slack >> Salesforce was a cash-and-stock deal. Postmaters >> Uber, all stock Okay, in that category of M&A in practically any category, the vast majority of deals are all cash. Deferred, for executives, in most cases. But cash. > In cases where the company being acquired is already publicly traded, those deals would have to be all cash as their shareholders would need to be bought out Not true. Preferable. Easier. Not not a requirement.
xnx 1y ago
> If OpenAI can't build an official IDE for less than 3 Billion It's funny money / made-up value. This is not $3B cash.

ashish01 1y ago

> one of the biggest waste of money on an acquisition. I think that was when intel acquired McAfee for 8B in 2010.

insane_dreamer 1y ago
MSFT buying Nokia for $7B is runner up. But at least it could have worked if MSFT hadn't burned it down. Intel and McAfee makes no sense at all.

fazeirony 1y ago

you mean the company that spent $9B to make $4B in 2024? that openai? i agree with you on this - it seems that openai hallucinates reality as much as their products do :-/

singularity2001 1y ago

instinctively I agree but it's all about timing: if they try to build their own IDE and hired people it would probably still take a couple of years to get a decent product. I don't know about patents.

mdaniel 1y ago
> if they try to build their own IDE and hired people Oh, haven't you heard? Hiring people to write software is so last decade. Maybe they just didn't want to vibe code a Windsurf implementation and decided to buy a press cycle for $3B

JumpCrisscross 1y ago

We don’t know how OpenAI is paying. A lot of comments seem to be assuming this is an all-cash deal. We have no evidence for that.

rchaud 1y ago
These deals are mostly in stock, not cash. $3b cash is not something most companies can afford to part with, and additionally, making deals that are stock-heavy creates an incentive for the leadership of the acquired company to keep working towards the general interest of OAI, and not instantly retire.
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago
  > These deals are mostly in stock, not cash How are you defining “these deals”? Most acquisitions of startup by larger companies in America over the last decade, at least, have been all cash.
  - rchaud 1y ago
    I'd define them as a large company acquiring a private startup. Slack >> Salesforce was a cash-and-stock deal. Postmaters >> Uber, all stock. In cases where the company being acquired is already publicly traded, those deals would have to be all cash as their shareholders would need to be bought out. IBM paid cash for Hashicorp, and Doordash will acquire Deliveroo in cash.
    - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
      > I'd define them as a large company acquiring a private startup. Slack >> Salesforce was a cash-and-stock deal. Postmaters >> Uber, all stock Okay, in that category of M&A in practically any category, the vast majority of deals are all cash. Deferred, for executives, in most cases. But cash. > In cases where the company being acquired is already publicly traded, those deals would have to be all cash as their shareholders would need to be bought out Not true. Preferable. Easier. Not not a requirement.

xnx 1y ago

> If OpenAI can't build an official IDE for less than 3 Billion It's funny money / made-up value. This is not $3B cash.