In a dramatic reversal that has sent shockwaves through the AI industry, Google has recruited the top executives of AI coding startup Windsurf in a $2.4 billion talent acquisition deal, just two months after Windsurf agreed to be acquired by OpenAI for $3 billion.
Google will hire Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan and co-founder Douglas Chen, along with select research and development staff, for its DeepMind AI division. Mohan, an Indian-origin entrepreneur who grew up in California and attended MIT, has led Windsurf’s transformation from Codeium into one of the hottest AI coding platforms in the market.
“Thrilled to welcome Windsurf founders Varun Mohan and Douglas Chen and some of the brilliant Windsurf engineering team to Google DeepMind,” Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, said in an X post. “Excited to be working with them to turbocharge our Gemini efforts on coding agents, tool use, and much more.”
