Who Is Varun Mohan? Tech Giant Hires Indian-Origin CEO Of AI Startup Who Rejected $3 Billion OpenAI Deal For Google DeepMind

Varun Mohan Windsurf CEO: The deal between Google and Windsurf follows earlier talks between the AI coding startup and OpenAI for a potential $3 billion acquisition.

Image Credit: @_mohansolo/X

Varun Mohan Windsurf CEO: Tech giant Google has roped in Indian-origin Varun Mohan, co-founder and CEO of coding AI startup Windsurf, in a major move in the ongoing AI talent race. Windsurf will continue to operate as an independent business and maintain the right to license its technology elsewhere, even in light of the well-publicised talent change. 

In a post on social media platform X, Demis Hassabis, Co-Founder and CEO at Google DeepMind, informed hiring several senior Research and Development team members, along with Mohan. Moreover, several important employees, including co-founder Douglas Chen, will join Google DeepMind as part of the deal.  

Thrilled to welcome @windsurf_ai founders @_mohansolo  Douglas Chen and some of the brilliant Windsurf eng team to @GoogleDeepMind. Excited to be working with them to turbocharge our Gemini efforts on coding agents, tool use and much more. Great to have you on board! https://t.co/7LZ6MtO2p4

— Demis Hassabis (@demishassabis) July 11, 2025

 Who Is Varun Mohan

He was raised in Sunnyvale, California, the son of Indian immigrants. From a young age, Mohan showed a natural talent for problem-solving. At the Harker School in San Jose, he stood out in math and computing Olympiads, laying the foundation for what was to come. That passion led him to MIT, where he earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees, diving deep into operating systems, distributed computing, and machine learning.

Mohan’s journey through the tech world took him to some of the industry’s biggest names which includes Nuro, Quora, LinkedIn, Databricks, and Samsung where he honed his skills and broadened his perspective. Then in 2021, he teamed up with Chen to launch Codeium, a company that would later evolve into Windsurf. 

Google Deal With Windsurf

Google has announced a $2.4 billion licensing and compensation deal with Windsurf. This agreement gives Google a non-exclusive license to key parts of Windsurf’s technology, but it’s not an acquisition or equity investment. Windsurf, a rising player in the AI coding space, is known for its innovative “vibe coding” — an easy-to-use, AI-powered approach to software development that’s gaining traction among developers.

In what’s being called a “reverse-acquihire,” Google isn’t buying the company or taking a stake. Instead, it’s paying big money to license the tech and bring top talent from Windsurf on board.

Indian-Origin CEO Rejected $3 Billion OpenAI Deal 

Although OpenAI had reportedly been in exclusive acquisition talks with Windsurf earlier this year for about $3 billion, the move is seen as a setback for OpenAI and a strategic win for Google. According to an OpenAI representative, that exclusivity period is now over.

The already fierce rivalry between AI titans is heightened by this development. Microsoft is developing its own AI-driven coding tools through "agent mode" in Visual Studio Code, and Meta recently hired Alexandr Wang, the founder of Scale AI, to lead its AI strategy as part of a $14.3 billion initiative. In April, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated that 30 per cent of the company's code is now written by AI.

Google Tap Windsurf To Boost Gemini’s AI Coding 

Google is intensifying its efforts to use AI to revolutionize software development with the Windsurf acquisition. It has already attracted top talent from the generative AI chatbot service Character. AI and is now looking to enhance its Gemini platform with features that could transform the way coding is done.

Jeff Wang, interim CEO of Windsurf, stated on X that the company will continue developing its enterprise product, while its core team joins Google to lead the next wave of innovation in AI-assisted development. (With IANS Inputs)