Bootcamps, work trials, token burn: Inside the recruiting practices at the hottest AI coding startups

AI coding startups like Cognition, Base44, Cursor, and Replit use unconventional recruiting methods such as scouting X and GitHub for talent, multi-day work trials, and AI-assisted interviews. Executives at these companies actively engage in personalized outreach to attract top engineers, bypassing traditional résumé-based hiring.