Windsurf Walks Away from OpenAI, Joins Google DeepMind Instead

If you were expecting OpenAI to scoop up Windsurf this year, that deal is officially off. Instead, Windsurf’s key team is heading to Google, marking a big talent win for DeepMind.

According to TechCrunch, OpenAI was on track to acquire the AI startup for around $3 billion, but talks reportedly collapsed due to Microsoft. As you may know, Microsoft holds deep access to OpenAI’s tech stack, Windsurf did not want its intellectual property exposed under that arrangement. The disagreement eventually became a dealbreaker.

With OpenAI’s exclusivity period expired, Windsurf pivoted to Google. Now, instead of being acquired, Windsurf will license its tech stack to Google on a non-exclusive basis. That means it can still sell its technology to other companies, including Google’s rivals.

More importantly, Google gets the people. Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen, and other R&D staff are now part of the DeepMind team. Google confirmed the move, saying the hires would support work on “agentic coding.”

Logan Kilpatrick, who leads Google’s AI Studio, welcomed the new additions in a post on X, “Big welcome to @_mohansolo (Varun Mohan) and others from the Windsurf team joining DeepMind :)”

Rishaj Upadhyay

News Editor

Rishaj is a tech writer who has been writing professionally for over four years, with a passion for Android, Windows, and all things tech. He initially joined Windows Report as a tech journalist and is now taking over as a news editor. He also writes for AndroidHeadlines. In the past, he has covered features, guides, and listicles for YTECHB and TechieTechTech. When he’s not breaking the keyboard, you can find him cooking, or listening to music/podcasts.