Meet Indian who studied at MIT, left OpenAI waiting, built Rs 20000 crore AI deal with Google, he is CEO of...

Varun Mohan, the co-founder and CEO of the fast-growing AI startup Windsurf, has just made headlines with a major move to Google. Known for his work in AI-driven coding, Mohan is now set to play a leading role in shaping the future of software development at Google DeepMind.

Varun studied at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he earned both his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, along with a minor in Mathematics. He didn’t stop there, he went on to complete a Master of Engineering (MEng) in Computer Science at MIT, further deepening his skills in the field of artificial intelligence and software systems.

Windsurf and “Vibe Coding”
At Windsurf, Mohan led the development of a groundbreaking concept called “vibe coding”, an intuitive, AI-assisted approach to writing code. Unlike traditional code assistants that simply autocomplete lines, vibe coding allows developers to build software more naturally and creatively with the help of AI. This idea quickly gained popularity among developers and made Windsurf a standout in the crowded AI startup scene.

The Google Deal
In a recent deal announced on Friday, Google secured a non-exclusive license to key parts of Windsurf’s technology. While Windsurf will stay independent, the agreement is said to be worth a massive USD 2.4 billion in licensing and compensation.

Several senior members from the Windsurf team—including co-founder Douglas Chen—will now join Google DeepMind, where they’ll focus on developing “agentic coding”. This next generation of coding tools aims to build AI agents that can act more like collaborators than just helpers—essentially writing and understanding code more like humans do.

A Strategic Win
This move is seen as a big win for Google, especially after reports revealed that OpenAI was in talks to acquire Windsurf for USD 3 billion earlier this year. That deal didn’t go through, and now Google has secured some of the company’s top minds without a full acquisition.

Google’s interest in strengthening its AI tools—especially its Gemini platform—shows just how fierce the competition is in the AI space. With other giants like Meta investing billions and Microsoft claiming that AI now writes 30% of its code, the race is clearly on.

What’s Next for Mohan
As Mohan and part of his team shift to Google, Windsurf’s new interim CEO Jeff Wang has said that the remaining members will continue working on the product for enterprise clients. Meanwhile, Mohan will now be at the heart of Google’s push to redefine software development using AI.

For a young engineer who started out at MIT, Varun Mohan’s journey has quickly turned into one of the most talked-about stories in tech, marking him as one of the key players shaping the future of artificial intelligence.