Varun Mohan, a rising star in Silicon Valley and co-founder of AI startup Windsurf, is underneath hearth after abruptly quitting to affix Google’s DeepMind, successfully tanking a $3 billion acquisition cope with OpenAI. The transfer triggered widespread criticism from buyers, trade friends, and the general public, with some branding Mohan a “generational villain” for leaving his crew behind throughout a vital transition. Whereas Windsurf was later rescued in a last-minute deal by Cognition, the controversy has solid a protracted shadow over Mohan’s once-admired profession. However who’s the person on the middle 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 dad and mom. Whereas the precise 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 pc science, commonly successful 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 advanced AI programs and real-world purposes 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 setting (IDE). The instrument allowed builders to write down, check, and refactor code with AI assist, 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 the US.

Fallout from the Google transfer

In 2025, OpenAI was reportedly in superior talks to accumulate Windsurf for $3 billion. However simply because the deal neared completion, Mohan and Chen resigned and licensed Windsurf’s expertise to Google in a $2.4 billion settlement. Mohan then joined Google DeepMind, taking key crew members with him. The sudden departure left Windsurf in disaster and ultimately 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 crew, whereas Cognition CEO Scott Wu referred to as the exit a betrayal of founder duty. On social media, customers accused Mohan of prioritizing private acquire over crew loyalty. One publish learn, “Founders cashing out whereas the crew’s left behind isn’t simply unhealthy kind. It’s long-term popularity injury.” One other person bluntly referred to as him a “generational villain.”Regardless of the backlash, Mohan’s contributions to AI-powered developer instruments stay vital. He’s broadly thought to be a pioneer in agentic IDEs, that are instruments that combine AI into your 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 underneath the shadow of one of many yr’s most controversial exits. Some say time will clean over the headlines, particularly if his subsequent improvements converse louder than the noise. In tech, it’s by no means lengthy earlier than the subsequent massive transfer resets the narrative.