A potential $3 billion acquisition deal between OpenAI and AI startup Windsurf has collapsed. Instead, Google has hired several of Windsurf’s top executives and research staff, bringing them into its DeepMind division to focus on advanced AI development, the companies announced on Friday.
Under the new arrangement, Varun Mohan, CEO of Windsurf, and Douglas Chen, the company’s cofounder, will join Google DeepMind alongside a portion of Windsurf’s R&D team. Their work will concentrate on agentic coding, a key area in the development of Google’s Gemini AI models.
Google will not acquire Windsurf, nor take any ownership stake in the company. However, it will receive a non-exclusive license to use some of Windsurf’s proprietary technology.
Following the executive departures, Jeff Wang, Windsurf’s head of business, has taken over as interim CEO, while Graham Moreno, VP of global sales, has been appointed as the company’s new president.
“Gemini is one of the best models available and we’ve been investing in its advanced capabilities for developers,” said Google spokesperson Chris Pappas. “We’re excited to welcome some top AI coding talent from Windsurf’s team to Google DeepMind to advance our work in agentic coding.”
Mohan and Chen expressed enthusiasm about their move, stating: “We are proud of what Windsurf has built over the last four years and are excited to see it move forward with their world-class team and kick-start the next phase.”
While the terms of Google’s hires have not been disclosed, OpenAI had previously been in talks to acquire Windsurf for approximately $3 billion.
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