Varun Mohan, a rising star in Silicon Valley and co-founder of AI startup Windsurf, is beneath hearth after abruptly quitting to affix Google’s DeepMind, successfully tanking a $3 billion acquisition take care of OpenAI. The transfer triggered widespread criticism from buyers, business friends, and the general public, with some branding Mohan a “generational villain” for leaving his group behind throughout an important transition. Whereas Windsurf was later rescued in a last-minute deal by Cognition, the controversy has forged an extended shadow over Mohan’s once-admired profession. However who’s the person on the heart of this high-stakes tech saga?
Varun Mohan: Windsurf Co-founder with Indian roots
Varun Mohan was born and raised in Sunnyvale, California, to Indian immigrant mother and father. Whereas the particular area in India stays undisclosed, his upbringing was outlined by a mix of Indian cultural values and the American spirit of innovation. Inspired to excel academically, Mohan confirmed an early aptitude for arithmetic and laptop science, commonly profitable accolades in nationwide Olympiads and competitions.Mohan’s educational journey led him to the Massachusetts Institute of Know-how (MIT), the place he pursued a uncommon dual-degree program. He accomplished a Bachelor of Science and a Grasp of Engineering in Electrical Engineering and Laptop Science (EECS). He specialised in areas like working programs, machine studying, distributed computing, and algorithms, laying the groundwork for his future in AI infrastructure and developer instruments.Throughout his time at MIT, Mohan constructed his technical basis with internships at main tech corporations and analysis establishments, together with Quora, LinkedIn, Samsung, Cloudera, and UC Santa Cruz. After graduating, he joined the self-driving startup Nuro, the place he rapidly rose to the position of Lead Software program Engineer. These experiences gave him hands-on publicity to complicated AI programs and real-world functions of machine studying.
Co-founding Windsurf: Constructing an AI-native IDE
In 2021, Mohan co-founded Codeium, which was later rebranded as Windsurf, together with MIT classmate Douglas Chen. The corporate initially centered on GPU virtualization for deep studying however later pivoted to create Cascade, an AI-powered built-in growth atmosphere (IDE). The software allowed builders to write down, take a look at, and refactor code with AI help, onboarding over 1,000,000 customers inside simply 4 months. Windsurf raised $243 million in funding and reached a $1.25 billion valuation, turning into one of many fastest-growing AI unicorns in america.
Fallout from the Google transfer
In 2025, OpenAI was reportedly in superior talks to amass Windsurf for $3 billion. However simply because the deal neared completion, Mohan and Chen resigned and licensed Windsurf’s know-how to Google in a $2.4 billion settlement. Mohan then joined Google DeepMind, taking key group members with him. The sudden departure left Windsurf in disaster and finally prompted a weekend-long rescue operation by AI agency Cognition. The transfer sparked outrage throughout the tech world.
Backlash from buyers and the general public
The fallout was swift and public. Enterprise capitalist Vinod Khosla criticized Mohan for abandoning his group, whereas Cognition CEO Scott Wu known as the exit a betrayal of founder accountability. On social media, customers accused Mohan of prioritizing private acquire over group loyalty. One submit learn, “Founders cashing out whereas the group’s left behind isn’t simply unhealthy kind. It’s long-term popularity injury.” One other consumer bluntly known as him a “generational villain.”Regardless of the backlash, Mohan’s contributions to AI-powered developer instruments stay important. He’s broadly thought to be a pioneer in agentic IDEs, that are instruments that combine AI into the complete coding course of, and an influential determine in Silicon Valley’s AI evolution. Now at Google DeepMind, he continues to form the way forward for AI-driven software program growth, though beneath the shadow of one of many 12 months’s most controversial exits.
