OpenAI-Windsurf deal falls apart, Google poaches CEO Varun Mohan and licenses tech for Rs 20,600 Crore instead
advertisementBut here's where it gets spicy: Google isn't buying Windsurf. Instead, it's agreed to pay $2.4 billion for a nonexclusive licence to some of the company's technology, meaning Windsurf remains independent and free to partner with others. While the startup's top brass are off to join the Google fold, the rest of the 250-person team is staying put and continuing to run the operation.
Jeff Wang, formerly Windsurf's head of business, has stepped up as interim CEO. In a post on social media, he assured everyone that Windsurf's enterprise AI coding tools aren't going anywhere. The company will carry on, minus a few high-profile departures, and Google will have no stake or control in its operations.
This isn't your average Big Tech takeover, it's the latest example of a clever manoeuvre known as a 'reverse acquihire.' Rather than buy the company outright (and invite regulators to poke around), tech giants like Google and Microsoft are increasingly opting to poach key talent and license the tech. It's faster, cleaner, and far less likely to end up on the front page of an antitrust filing.Google has played this game before. Remember when it lured Character.AI's Noam Shazeer back into its orbit? Microsoft pulled the same trick with Mustafa Suleyman. It's all part of the escalating AI arms race, where brains and code are the most valuable currency.OpenAI, meanwhile, is left with more than just a dent in its acquisition record. According to The Wall Street Journal, Windsurf's tech became a contentious issue in its partnership with Microsoft, which already has access to OpenAI's IP. The startup's decision to pivot away from OpenAI likely helped avoid further tension, but it handed a win to a key rival.Earlier Friday, Fortune reported that the exclusivity period for OpenAI's offer had just ended. Clearly, Windsurf didn't waste time window shopping, by the afternoon, the Google DeepMind deal was already making waves. In the high-stakes world of AI, things move fast, and the real prize isn't just tech, it's the people behind it.- Ends
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