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Alphabet's Google has hired several key staff members from AI code generation startup Windsurf, a Google spokesperson said on Friday, in a surprise move following an attempt by its rival OpenAI to acquire the startup.
Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen, and select members of the coding tool's research and development team will join Google's DeepMind artificial intelligence division, the Google spokesperson said.
The former Windsurf team will focus on agentic coding initiatives at Google DeepMind, primarily working on the Gemini project.
ChatGPT maker OpenAI was in talks to buy Windsurf, one of the hottest startups disrupting software development, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in June.
OpenAI could not immediately be reached for a comment.
"We're excited to welcome some top AI coding talent from Windsurf's team to Google DeepMind to advance our work in agentic coding," the Google spokesperson said.
As part of the deal, the search engine giant is entering a non-exclusive license for certain Windsurf technology, according to a source familiar with the matter. Google will not take a stake in Windsurf, the person said.
Windsurf investors will receive liquidity as part of the deal, sources told Reuters.
Google's surprise swoop mirrors a deal in August 2024 to hire key employees from chatbot startup Character.AI.
Big Tech peers, including Microsoft, Amazon and Meta, have similarly taken to these so-called acquihire deals, which some have criticised as an attempt to evade regulatory scrutiny.