Google hires Windsurf CEO and researchers to advance AI ambitions
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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
19 minutes ago
- Hans India
New ChatGPT Agent Is Here — What to Know
OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Agent — an AI that not only reasons, but takes action using a virtual computer. It can browse the web, run code, use tools, and deliver finished work like presentations or spreadsheets. What It Does ChatGPT Agent handles full tasks, like: Researching a topic Creating a slideshow Booking ingredients online Summarizing your inbox Planning meetings or events It can open websites, log in (with your help), download files, analyze data, and ask questions when needed — all in one flow. How It Works The system combines: Operator : web interaction : web interaction Deep Research : info synthesis : info synthesis ChatGPT: reasoning and conversation It uses tools like: A visual browser A terminal for code APIs and connectors (like Gmail or GitHub) It picks the best tool for the job and switches fluidly between them. You Stay in Control You can: Approve actions (like purchases) Take over the browser Pause, stop, or steer the task Clear browsing data anytime Real Results ChatGPT Agent sets new records: Humanity's Last Exam : 44.4% pass@1 : 44.4% pass@1 FrontierMath : 27.4% : 27.4% DSBench (data science) : ~90% : ~90% SpreadsheetBench : 45.5% (.xlsx) : 45.5% (.xlsx) WebArena: 78.2% real-world task accuracy In investment banking tasks, it beat both GPT-4 and human baselines in key metrics. Safety First With great power come strict guardrails: Requires your approval for real-world actions Refuses risky tasks like bank transfers Resists prompt injection attacks Keeps login inputs private Lets you wipe all data with one click It's classified under high biosafety protocols and tested by domain experts. How to Use It Available to: Pro (400 messages/month) (400 messages/month) Plus & Team (40 messages/month + credits) Find "Agent mode" in the tools menu. Just describe your task — the agent takes it from there. What's Next Slide generation will improve. Workflow speed and polish will get better. Less oversight will be needed over time — but safety will remain. This isn't just smarter AI. It's your new digital teammate.
Indian Express
19 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Mistral upgrades Le Chat AI chatbot with features like Think Mode, Deep Research and more
Mistral, the France-based AI startup, is adding a bunch of new features to Le Chat, its AI chatbot that will help it compete against the likes of ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. The new update adds a deep research mode, voice recognition and a redesigned image editor, to name a few. In a blog post, Mistral said that the new Deep Research mode turns Le Chat 'into a coordinated research assistant that can plan, clarify your needs, search and synthesize.' What it means is that users can now ask the AI chatbot in-depth questions, which it will answer by gathering information from credible sources and show the answer in an easy-to-understand structured report. The AI startup also rolled out its Vocal mode, which, as the name suggests, lets you talk to the chatbot just like you would talk to a real person. The new feature is powered by the company's voice-in model named Voxtral. Mistral also introduced 'Think mode', a new feature powered by Magistral, the company's reasoning model. The feature helps users by answering complex questions with 'clear, thoughtful answers.' The AI startup says its new mode is helpful for doing things like drafting a proposal in Spanish, understanding a legal concept in Japanese and doing things in your preferred language. If you use AI chatbots for different things, the newly rolled out Projects functionality might help you organise things. This works by grouping related chats into separate spaces, with each project featuring its own Library. As it turns out, the feature will also remember which tools and settings you are using. Users can not only upload files directly into a project, but can also help you pull content like conversations and documents from your Library. Le Chat is also getting a redesigned image editor, which, according to Mistral, can help users edit AI-generated images while preserving characters and detail. All of these features are now live, and you can try them out by heading over to ' or using the mobile app available on Android and iOS.
Hindustan Times
37 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Airtel's free Perplexity Pro offer makes it the No. 1 iPhone app in India; Beats ChatGPT
Perplexity has beaten ChatGPT to become the number one free app on the Apple App Store for iOS in India, the company's CEO, Aravind Srinivas, announced on X. We have independently verified that this is indeed the case and that Perplexity has surpassed ChatGPT and a few other apps to become the number one free app on the Apple App Store for iOS. Notably, this comes right after Airtel announced a free one-year Perplexity Pro subscription for its users in India. Airtel users can avail this offer by logging in to their respective accounts in the Airtel Thanks app.(REUTERS File) Here are the apps that Perplexity has beaten in India At number one is Perplexity, followed by ChatGPT at number two. At number three on the free app store list is Meesho Online Shopping, followed by Blinkit at number four, and Google Gemini, another of Perplexity's competitors, at number five. At number six is Threads; at number seven, Rapido; at number eight, the Airtel Thanks app, which can be used to claim the Perplexity offer; at number nine, District by Zomato; and at number ten, Amazon India. Therefore, the top ten includes three AI apps: Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Google Gemini, with Perplexity ranking ahead of them all. What does Perplexity Pro offer? Perplexity Pro gives users access to AI models such as Claude, Grok 4 by xAI, and GPT-4.1, and also allows them to generate images. It also offers deep research capabilities, alongside the ability to upload and analyse files. In total, the Perplexity Pro subscription, which Airtel is offering its customers in India, is valued at approximately Ra17,000. It is available to all Airtel customers in India using its mobile, broadband, or DTH services. You can claim this offer via the Airtel Thanks app. MOBILE FINDER: iPhone 16 LATEST Specs
