It's hard to believe that Annapurna leadership (and Ellison specifically) are surprised by this. It reads like Ellison is known for backing out of deals or simply not honoring them. Why should the staff believe she would honor a spinoff deal?
Hope the team is able to get something off the ground.
Wow wtf. Their apology doesn't even hint at one of the biggest problems in the question, that people shouldn't be aspiring to become "better" AI-generated versions of themselves. What kind of dick asks people to even consider that?