M&A
Google pays $2.4B for Windsurf's CEO, team and a license after OpenAI's $3B deal collapses
Hours after OpenAI's $3B agreement to buy Windsurf expired on July 11, 2025, Google DeepMind hired CEO Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen and the core research team and took a non-exclusive license to Windsurf's technology for about $2.4B, the template for the 'reverse acqui-hire'. Cognition bought what was left three days later.