Monday, we published Dawn of the Shell-qui-hire, in which Railway founder Jake Cooper argues against the partial acquisitions trending in Silicon Valley right now (see: Windsurf, Scale, Character AI) — and asks founders and VCs to publicly declare "all or none" (if their companies are acquired, it's everyone or no one).

Today, Jordan Thibodeau, an M&A veteran (Google, Slack) and host of the SVIC podcast, pens a rebuttal: partial acquisitions like the Windsurf and Scale deals aren’t ideal, but under today’s FTC/DOJ pressure, they’re often the only option. These edge-case deals reflect tough calls in distressed situations, not founder betrayal. Before pointing fingers, we should let the facts settle, understand the constraints, and push regulators to stop suffocating startup exits.