In July 2025, Google signed a $2.4 billion deal for a nonexclusive licence to the technologies developed by Windsurf, a cutting-edge AI startup co-founded by Varun Mohan. Along with the deal, Mohan and several core members of his team joined Google DeepMind, marking one of the most high-profile movements in the AI talent landscape this year.This landmark agreement not only validated Windsurf’s innovation in AI-powered software development but also brought global attention to Mohan’s exceptional trajectory. His journey from a math Olympiad enthusiast in high school to an MIT-trained engineer and AI entrepreneur is a story rooted deeply in education, vision, and technical mastery.
A strong academic foundation in Sunnyvale
Born and raised in Sunnyvale, California, Mohan is the son of Indian-origin parents who instilled in him the value of rigorous learning from an early age. He attended The Harker School in San Jose, a school known for nurturing bright minds in science and technology. Here, he developed a reputation as a math and computing Olympiad achiever, excelling in competitions that tested both analytical depth and speed.Mohan was not just performing well academically. He was exploring the boundaries of computational thinking, often creating solutions to problems that went well beyond classroom material.
MIT years: A dual degree and deeper specialisation
Mohan’s academic promise led him to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he enrolled in the prestigious Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) program. Between 2014 and 2017, he completed both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Engineering in EECS, a challenging combination that only a few students pursue.At MIT, Mohan chose to specialise in operating systems, distributed computing, machine learning, performance engineering, and algorithms. His graduate work was marked by a strong blend of theory and hands-on experimentation, especially in building systems that could operate at scale.This academic foundation was instrumental in shaping his long-term vision: a world where artificial intelligence could assist humans in coding, debugging, and designing software—making development faster, smarter, and more accessible.
Real-world experience across leading tech firms
Following his graduation from MIT, Mohan took a thoughtful approach to building experience. He worked at some of the top technology companies in the world, including LinkedIn, Quora, Nuro, Samsung, and Databricks. Across these roles, he gained practical insights into backend systems, machine learning infrastructure, robotics, and big data platforms.Each job added a new layer to his expertise and deepened his understanding of the challenges developers face when working with large-scale systems. It also reinforced his belief that existing development tools needed a fundamental overhaul—something only AI could deliver.
Founding Windsurf: Where AI meets developer workflows
In 2021, Varun Mohan co-founded Codeium, later rebranded as Windsurf, with his MIT classmate and close friend Douglas Chen. Initially focused on GPU virtualisation, the company soon pivoted to its breakthrough idea: an AI-native IDE (Integrated Development Environment) capable of helping developers write, refactor, and understand code using large language models.Under Mohan’s leadership, Windsurf gained enormous traction in a short time. It onboarded over a million developers within four months, raised $243 million in funding, and reached a valuation of $1.25 billion. The platform’s core innovation lay in its use of agentic workflows, where AI tools like Cascade could automate routine development tasks while keeping engineers focused on architecture and strategy.
The $2.4 billion deal with Google
In one of the biggest AI deals of 2025, Google entered into a $2.4 billion agreement to license Windsurf’s technologies. Though it did not acquire the company outright, Google welcomed Varun Mohan and key members of his team into Google DeepMind. The move positions Mohan at the heart of Google’s efforts to lead the future of AI-assisted software development.The structure of the deal also means Windsurf can continue to operate independently, licensing its tools to other enterprise clients. This hybrid model of licensing plus talent integration is seen as a blueprint for future collaboration between startups and tech giants.At the core of Varun Mohan’s success lies a consistent thread: education as a launchpad. Whether it was the competitive environment of Harker School, the academic intensity of MIT, or the deep technical exposure across companies like Databricks and Quora, every stage built upon the last.Mohan’s story shows that deep learning—of the academic kind—is still one of the most powerful tools for shaping the future of technology. While AI may now assist in writing code, it was a strong human foundation in mathematics, systems thinking, and research that enabled Mohan to imagine that future in the first place.TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here.