I'm actually excited for this. API.ai us a great set of tools to use.
Api.ai is joining Google
11–20 of 159 posts
Re: Api.ai is joining Google
#12Of course they are, what else would they do; ~2 years old and already sold [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaktoit#Api.ai
Fucking impressive.
Re: Api.ai is joining Google
#13I'm assuming Google doesn't need any of the company's business, and that it is being acquired for its talent. So, my real question: how much, on average, does a founder get as part of one of these acquihires? And does s/he actually, y'know, have to do any work after getting paid?
When this happens to product X I feel an instinct of commiseration for the users of product X.
Re: Api.ai is joining Google
#14I'm assuming Google doesn't need any of the company's business, and that it is being acquired for its talent. So, my real question: how much, on average, does a founder get as part of one of these acquihires? And does s/he actually, y'know, have to do any work after getting paid?
When this happens to product X I feel an instinct of commiseration for the users of product X.
Users honestly should know better by now.
Re: Api.ai is joining Google
#15Congratulations to the api.ai team. Unrelated to the acquisition directly, but fantastic logo placement. I can't be the only person that looks for their color-changing sign every time I drive down the 101. Awesome advertising / growth hack. :)
Re: Api.ai is joining Google
#16I'm assuming Google doesn't need any of the company's business, and that it is being acquired for its talent. So, my real question: how much, on average, does a founder get as part of one of these acquihires? And does s/he actually, y'know, have to do any work after getting paid?
The buyer typically pays $1M per engineer they keep. What the founders get depends on how much they were diluted by funding rounds.
What do the founders typically do within the acquiring corp after the acquisition? Do they have any agency? Or are they just another set of middle managers for the meat grinder?
Re: Api.ai is joining Google
#17Congrats to them. I do find this sentence a bit awkward: "It has been a long and fun journey. Since API.AI’s launch in 2014..." I think the CEO referring to the total time into the company (including the Speaktoit phase), but it comes across badly - leaves me thinking "You think 2 years is a long time???" I don't think that's what the CEO meant to say.
Re: Api.ai is joining Google
#18I'm assuming Google doesn't need any of the company's business, and that it is being acquired for its talent. So, my real question: how much, on average, does a founder get as part of one of these acquihires? And does s/he actually, y'know, have to do any work after getting paid?
> And does s/he actually, y'know, have to do any work after getting paid?
Yes, they're called "golden handcuffs". You basically get a compensation package so good that it'd be stupid to leave. Usually they try to get you to stay 3-5 but YMMV.
Re: Api.ai is joining Google
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
The buyer typically pays $1M per engineer they keep. What the founders get depends on how much they were diluted by funding rounds.
What do the founders typically do within the acquiring corp after the acquisition? Do they have any agency? Or are they just another set of middle managers for the meat grinder?
It's unusual for an acquihire to have real agency in a big company. It's usually the middle management route - or worse - the limbo of having nothing real to do like the parody scenario in the Silicon Valley tv show.
Re: Api.ai is joining Google
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
The buyer typically pays $1M per engineer they keep. What the founders get depends on how much they were diluted by funding rounds.
What do the founders typically do within the acquiring corp after the acquisition? Do they have any agency? Or are they just another set of middle managers for the meat grinder?
From my admittedly limited experience, they try to fight the good fight for a little while before being defeated by the corporate bureaucracy and then sit around waiting for their vesting to end.