Ever since the formation of Cyanogen Inc., co-founder and original founder of CyanogenMod Steve Kondik has largely been quiet and doing things behind the scenes. Even when the company’s loud-mouthed CEO Kirt McMaster made statements like putting a “bullet to Google’s head,” Kondik was nowhere to be found. 

Now that Cyanogen Inc. is shutting down its Seattle office, letting go of its employees and its future looking bleak, Kondik has finally spoken out about the mismanagement inside Cyanogen Inc., the future of CyanogenMod, and Kirt McMaster. In a post on Google+, Kondik says that Cyanogen Inc. was started with the vision to bring the OS to more devices. For this, he hired a lot of community folks and eventually raised a lot of money. However, once things started looking positive for the company, CEO Kirt McMaster started making nonsensical comments in public that tarnished Cyanogen Inc’s reputation.

By the time I was able to stop it, I was outgunned and outnumbered by a team on the same mission. We essentially stopped shipping after awhile because there ended up being two sides, split between the original vision and this new amorphous blob that nobody could figure out let alone build. Eventually I tried to salvage it with a pivot that would have brought us closer to something that would have worked, but the new guys had other plans. With plenty of cash in the bank, the new guys tore the place down and will go and do whatever they are going to do. It’s probably for the best and I wish them luck, but what I was trying to do, is over.

Since all this also affects CyanogenMod, Kondik ends his rant with a few questions to the community in which he suggests that due to IP and branding issues, CyanogenMod might need to be forked and rebranded. If you have been a long time CyanogenMod user and supporter, do make sure to voice your opinions and answer the questions asked by Steve to help the future of the project.