Stay at corporate as data aventurer or join startup as AI FDE for same comp

Corporate: I had huge growth here when the business was growing, but that growth phase is over. The company is now nearshoring and offshoring work, and laying off low performers every quarter. There were many reorgs last year, there’s a lot of micromanagement, long hours, and general chaos. I’m pretty tired of it. Most of the people I work with are in lower-cost countries. The company doesn’t offer part-time work, doesn’t count overtime, and is just chaotic overall. That said, my boss is fantastic, and I have a close-knit team. I’m well paid with a solid cash bonus, and my position feels fairly secure since I’m using AI to make products more efficient and cut costs.

Startup: They have product-market fit and are planning to raise a Series B next year. They have a solid client base with some big names, and they build AI agents for financial services. I’d be working as a forward-deployed AI engineer at one of their clients: good for networking, social life and for working with skilled people locally. Heard that working hours are manageable and not worse than what I have with possibly part time depending on function.

Not sure which way to go: take the startup offer, or stay at corporate.