I realized something today about why I think
@yishan's take on AI app layer is wrong.
The application layer is about craftsmanship. True craftspeople don't want to work at OpenAI and Anthropic - the culture rot is already apparent. Apple maintained this for longer than any modern company but it has now eroded. The big model companies will easily suffer the same fate if they aren't already. If $3B for Windsurf couldn't establish a category foothold on the app layer, $30B won't either. The org rot is already in full swing.
But there are 2 companies where I *do* see craftspeople joining and thriving. And those 2 companies are
@cursor_ai and
@NotionHQ .
When I saw
@mschoening and
@geoffreylitt from
@inkandswitch join Notion, and folks like
@sjwhitmore from
@newcomputer join Cursor, I knew there was something special at these places that simply can't be replicated with money.
In the application layer there's something that big models and infinite money can't touch. A sort of principled obsession at the forefront of human computer interaction that simply can't be replicated. Right now that dynamic has been captured and bottled up at Cursor and Notion - and it's so clear that the big labs don't have it and never will.
• 50 former founders work at Cursor
• 35 former founders work at Notion
What other companies do this?