OpenAI’s $3m plans to acquire AI coding firm Windsurf fell through, with Google swooping in to hire the startup’s chief executive officer Varun Mohan and other execs.
Mohan, accompanied by co-founder Douglas Chen and other Windsurf researchers, will join Google’s DeepMind team.
Windsurf, formerly known as Codeium, helps developers edit and manage code. The platform offers models that provide code refining suggestions and assist with developer workflow.
The startup was valued at $1.25bn last August.
“We’re excited to welcome some top AI coding talent from Windsurf’s team to advance our work in agentic coding.” Google said in a statement.
The news of Google’s Windsurf hirings comes after OpenAI sought to acquire the company. However, the exclusivity period on OpenAI’s offer expired on Friday, allowing Windsurf to explore other options.
Windsurf was reportedly concerned about sharing product information with Microsoft, a major investor in OpenAI.
OpenAI and Microsofts’ deal requires OpenAI to share intellectual property from each company it acquires. OpenAI requested an exception for Windsurf, but Microsoft denied.
Google has said it’s not investing in Windsurf but will have a nonexclusive license to some Windsurf technology.
Rising Competition
Windsurf rivals other popular coding assistant platforms such as Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot and Anysphere’s Cursor.
OpenAI has its own set of coding tools on its platform Codex.
Windsurf will continue its individual operations as some of its staff transfers to Google. As part of the deal, Google will gain access to some of Windsurf’s technology.
Competition has escalated among major AI companies as top executives and researchers move to other corporations. Meta AI has recruited talent from multiple tech startups and companies, with some offers reaching $100m.
It’s reported that Google is paying $2.4bn for Windsurf’s employees and resources.
Windsurf’s head of business, Jeff Wang, will serve as the interim chief executive officer.
“We are excited to be joining Google DeepMind along with some of the Windsurf team.” Mohan and Chen said in a statement. “We are proud of what Windsurf has built over the last four years and are excited to see it move forward with their world class team and kick-start the next phase.”
