In its latest salvo in the war for AI supremacy, Google has poached Varun Mohan co-founder and CEO of Windsurf, as well as several senior R&D talent of the Al startup for a whopping $2.4 billion. According to media reports, the deal which was announced Friday does not involve Google acquiring any equity stake in Windsurf but the tech titan is slated to pay $2.4 billion to the AI startup as licensing fees and compensation.
Who joined Google besides Varun Mohan?
As per a report by The Verge, several key R&D staff of Windsurf, including co-founder Douglas Chen, have joined Google, and while the company will remain independent and retain the rights to license its technology elsewhere, the Sundar Pichai-led tech giant has acquired a non-exclusive license to key parts of its IP.
Chen is expected to join the ambitious Google DeepMind project to accelerate efforts in “agentic coding”– Google’s next-generation AI tools designed to act like autonomous companions than autocomplete engines.
Why this is a major win for Google?
According to industry, the Windsurf deal is a major victory for Google in the AI war as its main rival in the race, OpenAI, was also in talks with the AI startup for similar agreement. Reports suggest the Sam Altman-led AI major had offered to acquire Windsurf for $3 billion earlier this year.
However, as per an OpenAl spokesperson, that “exclusive opportunity is now closed”.
Windsurf is known for pioneering “vibe coding”– Al-assisted, intuitive software being rapidly adopted by developers.
How this adds fuel to AI war?
Insiders believe that Google’s deal with Windsurf has added fuel to the ongoing AI war, as rivals like Meta, OpenAI and Microsoft, race towards AI-driven software development, which will ultimately replace human coding.
Earlier, Meta hired Scale Al founder Alexander Wang, who is set to lead the company’s AI projects as part of its $14.3 billion investment. On the other hand, Microsoft is increasingly pushing for AI-powered coding via its Agent Mode” in Visual Studio Code, with CEO Satya Nadella claiming in April that about 30 percent of code at the company is now written by Al.
Meanwhile, the Windsurf deal is being seen as a strategic acquisition for Google as the firm had previously poached key talent from Character.AI, as it pushes ahead to equip Gemini with AI tools which could redefine future software development.
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