Corgi, the buzzy Y Combinator-backed insurance tech startup, says it didn’t steal an open source product
Corgi, the buzzy Y Combinator-backed insurance tech startup, says it didn’t steal an open source product
Corgi，这家备受瞩目的 Y Combinator 支持的保险科技初创公司，声称并未窃取开源产品
Y Combinator-backed insurance tech startup Corgi became embroiled in yet another controversy earlier this week when Papermark, maker of open source data room software, accused Corgi of stealing its software and passing it off as its own. 本周早些时候，Y Combinator 支持的保险科技初创公司 Corgi 再次陷入争议。开源数据室（data room）软件开发商 Papermark 指控 Corgi 窃取其软件并将其伪装成自己的产品。
Corgi denies this, telling TechCrunch: “No code was used from Papermark.” But there were reasons why people believed the initial allegation, which was made by Papermark co-founder Marc Seitz on X, concerning Corgi’s newly released product called Dataroom. Corgi 对此予以否认，并向 TechCrunch 表示：“我们没有使用 Papermark 的任何代码。”然而，人们之所以相信最初的指控（由 Papermark 联合创始人 Marc Seitz 在 X 上提出）是有原因的，该指控涉及 Corgi 新发布的产品 Dataroom。
Seitz’s post blew up because he shared screenshots showing Corgi’s product using the same language for the same features as Papermark’s, word for word. Deal room software is essentially secure document sharing. It is famously used by startups to pitch VCs and send them supporting materials for due diligence. Seitz 的帖子之所以引发轰动，是因为他分享的截图显示，Corgi 的产品在描述相同功能时，使用了与 Papermark 一模一样的措辞。交易室软件本质上是安全文档共享工具，初创公司常利用它向风投机构进行路演，并发送尽职调查所需的辅助材料。
Seitz went as far as to call Corgi’s new product copyright and license-infringing, and “fraud.” Corgi’s co-founder and CEO Nico Laqua saw the tweet and promised to investigate. Soon after, he posted on X his full denial with receipts of his own, showing that the code was different between the two products. Seitz 甚至称 Corgi 的新产品侵犯了版权和许可协议，并称其为“欺诈”。Corgi 联合创始人兼首席执行官 Nico Laqua 看到了这条推文并承诺进行调查。不久后，他在 X 上发布了全面否认声明，并附上了自己的证据，证明两款产品的代码确实不同。
While he strenuously pushed back on the allegations of a license violation (“‘stole my enterprise-code’ is a different claim than ‘copied my style,” Laqua argued), he did admit that relying on a vibe-coding design led to the replica features. “Looking back, we should’ve leaned more into our own language and visual choices instead of taking cues from existing products in the space, and that’s on us,” he posted. 虽然他极力反驳有关违反许可协议的指控（Laqua 辩称：“‘窃取我的企业代码’与‘抄袭我的风格’是不同的主张”），但他确实承认，依赖“氛围编程”（vibe-coding）设计导致了功能上的雷同。“回过头来看，我们本应更多地采用自己的语言和视觉选择，而不是借鉴该领域的现有产品，这是我们的责任，”他写道。
A Corgi spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that the offending features were vibe-coded and said they have already been changed, downplaying the situation. “The issues were isolated to visual elements on two peripheral settings pages,” the spokesperson told us, adding that these elements were “immediately updated” and that “our team confirmed that no code was used from Papermark.” Corgi 的一位发言人向 TechCrunch 证实，这些引发争议的功能确实是通过“氛围编程”实现的，并表示这些功能已经更改，试图淡化此事。“这些问题仅限于两个外围设置页面上的视觉元素，”发言人告诉我们，并补充说这些元素已“立即更新”，且“我们的团队确认没有使用 Papermark 的任何代码。”
Laqua and the spokesperson also accused Papermark of making these accusations because Corgi is offering a less expensive product. “I get that this stings since we’re putting out something mostly free that competes with his SaaS. I’d be mad too,” Laqua wrote of Seitz. (Seitz has not yet responded to our request for comment.) Laqua 和该发言人还指责 Papermark 提出这些指控是因为 Corgi 提供的产品价格更低。“我明白这让人不快，因为我们推出的产品大多是免费的，这与他的 SaaS 产品形成了竞争。如果是我，我也会生气，”Laqua 在谈到 Seitz 时写道。（Seitz 尚未回应我们的置评请求。）
Yet, this clearly wasn’t just sour grapes when identical features and wording were used. It’s about a new question: If vibe coding makes it so easy to copy the look, feel, and every function of another’s work, while not copying every line of the code itself, how much does it matter if the source isn’t identical? 然而，当出现完全相同的功能和措辞时，这显然不仅仅是“吃不到葡萄说葡萄酸”。这引出了一个新问题：如果“氛围编程”能如此轻易地复制他人作品的外观、感觉和所有功能，而无需复制每一行代码，那么源代码是否相同还重要吗？
Obviously, legally speaking, it’s the only thing that matters. So this is not the same as the controversy over Y Combinator alum PearAI, a 2024 startup that admitted to cloning another open source project and releasing it under its own license. 显然，从法律角度来看，这才是唯一重要的事情。因此，这与 YC 校友企业 PearAI 的争议不同——那家 2024 年成立的初创公司承认克隆了另一个开源项目，并以自己的许可协议发布。
Morally speaking, this is ambiguous and will become increasingly common. As fellow YC alum and founder of the agent operating system OpenProse, Dan Barrett explained on X: “In a world where a bot can trivially copy 1:1 the structure of something even if the character-level code diverges … what makes one unacceptable and the other not? existing IP law, incidental to the old world? is there not some greater principle at work here?” 从道德层面来看，这是模糊的，且未来会越来越普遍。正如另一位 YC 校友、智能体操作系统 OpenProse 的创始人 Dan Barrett 在 X 上所解释的那样：“在一个机器人可以轻松地 1:1 复制某物结构的世界里，即使字符级的代码有所不同……是什么让一种行为不可接受而另一种可以接受？现有的知识产权法是否只是旧世界的附带产物？这里难道没有某种更宏大的原则在起作用吗？”
Corgi is now vigorously trying to clean up any reputational damage. It has issued a cease and desist letter to Seitz demanding that he take down the tweet, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The founder of Hello World Cafe, which somewhat competes with Corgi’s coffee shop business, also contends on X that he got a cease and letter from Corgi’s lawyers for his tweet that joked about the Dataroom controversy. Corgi 目前正极力挽回声誉损失。该公司向 TechCrunch 证实，已向 Seitz 发出停止侵权函，要求他删除推文。Hello World Cafe 的创始人（其业务与 Corgi 的咖啡店业务存在一定竞争）也在 X 上声称，他因发布关于 Dataroom 争议的调侃推文而收到了 Corgi 律师发来的停止侵权函。
Though X still remembers. There have been hundreds of comments and countless subtweets. (Corgi also offers a 24-hour coffee shop, with plans to open more, Laqua recently said on Harry Stebbings’ podcast.) 不过，X 平台依然留有记录。目前已有数百条评论和无数的引用推文。（Laqua 最近在 Harry Stebbings 的播客中表示，Corgi 还经营着一家 24 小时营业的咖啡店，并计划开设更多分店。）
This latest hullabaloo adds to a growing list of chatter around Corgi. The two-year-old startup, for instance, has a growing reputation for being litigious. It’s already sued various former employees. Laqua also recently went viral for his comments on Stebbings podcast about how he expects employees to work 7 days a week. 这场最新的风波为围绕 Corgi 的争议清单又添了一笔。例如，这家成立两年的初创公司因好诉而声名狼藉，它已经起诉了多名前员工。Laqua 最近还因在 Stebbings 的播客中发表关于期望员工每周工作 7 天的言论而走红。
“Whatever you can done in five days, I promise you, you’ll get more done in six and seven,” he said. That is, of course, the fallacy of startup hustle culture. Decades of research repeatedly conclude that human productivity is not a quadratic equation. While sprints can be effective (and build camaraderie) for short-term problems like the site going down, the research shows that, as a matter of routine, more hours of work reduces productivity, not the other way around. “无论你在五天内能完成什么，我向你保证，你在六天或七天内会完成得更多，”他说。当然，这就是初创公司“奋斗文化”的谬论。数十年的研究反复证明，人类的生产力并非二次方程。虽然在处理网站宕机等短期问题时，冲刺式工作可能有效（并能建立团队情谊），但研究表明，作为常规工作方式，增加工作时长反而会降低生产力，而非提高。
The startup also got tongues wagging for how fast it has raised money with increasing valuations, even by AI-startup standards. Last month, Corgi raised a $106 million Series B1 raise, valuing the company at $2.6 billion, just three weeks after announcing a $160 million Series B at a $1.3 billion valuation and four months after its $108 million Series A. 这家初创公司还因其融资速度之快和估值不断攀升而引发热议，即便以 AI 初创公司的标准来看也是如此。上个月，Corgi 完成了 1.06 亿美元的 B1 轮融资，估值达到 26 亿美元；而就在三周前，它才刚刚宣布以 13 亿美元的估值完成 1.6 亿美元的 B 轮融资，距离其 1.08 亿美元的 A 轮融资也仅过去四个月。