Windsurf co-founder joins Google DeepMind as tech giant ramps up efforts in agentic coding and AI development tools
In a major move in the AI talent race, Google has brought on board Indian-origin entrepreneur Varun Mohan, co-founder and CEO of coding AI startup Windsurf. The deal, valued at $2.4 billion in licensing and compensation, grants Google non-exclusive rights to parts of Windsurf’s intellectual property—marking a strategic talent win without a formal acquisition, reported gujaratsamachar.com.
Windsurf’s top minds join DeepMind to boost Gemini’s coding capabilities
Demis Hassabis, CEO and Co-Founder of Google DeepMind, confirmed the development in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “Thrilled to welcome @windsurf_ai founders Varun Mohan and Douglas Chen and some of the brilliant Windsurf eng team to @GoogleDeepMind,” he wrote. “Excited to be working with them to turbocharge our Gemini efforts on coding agents, tool use, and much more.”
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Windsurf, known for pioneering ‘vibe coding’—an intuitive AI-assisted development approach—has quickly risen to prominence in the AI software space
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Its talent and technology are expected to significantly enhance Google’s Gemini platform, especially in the emerging field of ‘agentic coding’, where AI tools act as collaborative software development agents rather than mere code-completion bots.
Windsurf remains independent as AI rivalry intensifies
Despite the high-value deal, Windsurf will continue to function as an independent company, retaining the right to license its technology to other clients. Jeff Wang, Windsurf’s interim CEO, confirmed that the startup will keep developing its enterprise offerings while its core team transitions to Google DeepMind.
The move is seen as a strategic blow to OpenAI, which was reportedly in exclusive acquisition talks with Windsurf earlier this year for a deal worth around $3 billion. That exclusivity period has now ended, according to an OpenAI representative.
This hiring further intensifies the AI arms race among tech giants. Microsoft is integrating ‘agent mode’ into Visual Studio Code and recently revealed that AI now writes 30% of its code. Meta, meanwhile, hired Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang to lead a $14.3 billion AI strategy.
By onboarding Windsurf talent, Google is cementing its commitment to reinventing the future of software development through AI, positioning Gemini as a next-gen platform in the competitive landscape of intelligent coding tools.
