Windsurf was the internal codename of a secretive AI startup working on cutting-edge AI agents—autonomous systems that can perform complex tasks like planning, coding, or using a computer as humans do.
It had no public product, website, or major press coverage at the time.
Despite this, it drew immense interest from top tech giants like OpenAI and Google.
The company was reportedly valued at ~$3 billion even before launch—a testament to the founders’ reputation and the technology’s potential.
Windsurf was co-founded by:
Former OpenAI policy researcher.
Left OpenAI over disagreement with the company’s direction and safety approach.
Known for his strong views on AI alignment and safety.
A low-profile but highly respected AI researcher.
Previously involved in agentic AI and transformer-based model design.
The founders and early team members were from the U.S., deeply connected to the elite AI talent networks.
OpenAI reportedly wanted to acquire Windsurf for ~$3 billion. The strategic reasons:
The founding team had deep alignment, reinforcement learning, and policy expertise—skills increasingly rare.
Windsurf was believed to be developing autonomous AI agents—similar to OpenAI’s own efforts (e.g., ChatGPT with memory, Code Interpreter, etc.)
They feared it could outpace their own roadmap.
OpenAI likely wanted to prevent Windsurf from joining hands with Google, Meta, or Anthropic.
At the final stage of OpenAI's negotiations:
Google DeepMind's co-founder, Demis Hassabis, directly stepped in.
He personally convinced the Windsurf founders to join DeepMind instead of selling to OpenAI.
This derailed the OpenAI acquisition, and Windsurf was effectively acquihired by DeepMind.
Result:
Windsurf ceased to be an independent company.
Its core team now works at DeepMind under Google’s umbrella.
Both Daniel Kokotajlo and Trevor Cai are from the United States.
The company was incorporated in the U.S. and part of the elite Silicon Valley AI startup ecosystem.
This story is a microcosm of the intense global battle among AI superpowers. Key highlights:
Top AI researchers are being offered multi-million dollar packages.
Companies are acquiring or “acquihiring” entire teams to accelerate their AGI timelines.
OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Meta, Anthropic, and xAI (Elon Musk) are in an arms race to build Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
Strategic acquisitions are a major way to speed up progress and eliminate threats.
Startups like Windsurf, Inflection AI, and Adept are nimble, mission-driven, and sometimes more advanced in narrow areas.
Big Tech wants to absorb them early before they become threats.
The Windsurf saga is a prime example of how power, money, talent, and ideology are shaping the future of AI.
OpenAI tried to buy and control.
Google DeepMind played long-term vision + personal influence.
And the startup that never launched still changed the game.
