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Cognition Finalizes Acquisition of Windsurf’s IP and Team

Cognition has guaranteed full equity stakes for every Windsurf employee, preserving the startup’s IP to bolster its Devin platform.

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Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Google CEO Sundar Pichai attends a press conference in Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 13, 2025. The battle over artificial intelligence’s future has drawn focus to Bay Area tech’s top executives.

Overview

  • The acquisition secures Windsurf’s AI-powered integrated development environment, trademarks, brand and the staff not recruited by Google.
  • Google’s $2.4 billion reverse acqui-hire earlier this month poached CEO Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen and key researchers after OpenAI’s nonbinding $3 billion offer lapsed.
  • Before the deal, Windsurf had reached $82 million in annual recurring revenue with over 350 enterprise clients and hundreds of thousands of daily active users.
  • Cognition guaranteed 100% employee financial participation in the transaction and waived vesting cliffs for work completed to date.
  • Windsurf will operate independently at first while its code-writing technology is integrated into Cognition’s autonomous coding agent, Devin.