Windsurf AI Talent Joins Google DeepMind, Sidestepping OpenAI-Microsoft Deal

After OpenAI rejected its $3B acquisition offer, Google acquired Windsurf’s leading AI experts to boost its DeepMind operations in Silicon Valley’s AI competition.

Google has hired the top minds behind Windsurf, a start-up that created an AI tool for writing code, adding new strength to its AI division, DeepMind, as first reported by The New York Times. The move is part of Silicon Valley’s growing rush to lock down the best artificial intelligence talent.

CEO Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen, and several Windsurf researchers now work at Google DeepMind. Google also paid for a license to use Windsurf’s technology, though the amount wasn’t disclosed, the Times noted.

“We’re excited to welcome some top A.I. coding talent from Windsurf’s team to Google DeepMind to advance our work in agentic coding,” Google said in a statement, as reported by the Times.

OpenAI had tried to buy Windsurf in a $3 billion deal just weeks ago. The deal collapsed after Windsurf refused to share sensitive product data with Microsoft, OpenAI’s biggest investor. The Times reports that Microsoft required access to this data as a condition.

Once Windsurf’s exclusivity agreement with OpenAI ended, Google stepped in. CEO Sundar Pichai and DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis offered a simpler deal with fewer complications, says the Times.

This isn’t the first time Google has used licensing and hiring to gain AI talent. The Times reports that in 2023, it paid $3 billion to license Character.AI’s technology and also hired its founders, former Google employees.

Rival companies like Meta and Google have reportedly offered compensation packages as high as $100 million to attract top talent. Windsurf’s business chief, Jeff Wang, will now serve as interim CEO. OpenAI and Microsoft declined to comment further, as reported by the Times.

The FTC and DOJ usually watch for deals that limit competition, but hiring and licensing deals like this often slip past scrutiny.