Windsurf
Codeium rebranded its AI IDE as Windsurf in late 2024 and grew into one of the most-used Cursor alternatives. Google announced an unusual $2.4B licensing deal in July 2025 that took CEO Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen, and the core research team to DeepMind without buying the company. Two days later, Cognition (maker of Devin) acquired the remaining Windsurf product, IP, and employees for an undisclosed sum. Windsurf now operates as a Cognition brand.
Acquisition Details
Cognition acquired Windsurf July 14, 2025 after Google's $2.4B reverse-acquihire took the founders. Confirmed by Cognition's blog and multiple news outlets.
🩺 Health Signals
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📅 Timeline
Codeium launches the Windsurf IDE
https://windsurf.com/blog/introducing-windsurf
Google licenses Windsurf tech for $2.4B; founders join DeepMind
https://www.theverge.com/2025/7/11/google-deepmind-windsurf-deal
Cognition acquires the remaining Windsurf business
https://cognition.ai/blog/windsurf
🔄 Alternatives to Windsurf
Codeium
🟢ActiveFree AI code completion tool supporting 70+ programming languages across multiple IDEs.
GitHub Copilot
🟢ActiveAI pair programmer that suggests code completions in your IDE, powered by OpenAI Codex.
Cursor AI
🟢ActiveAI-first code editor built on VS Code with deep AI integration for code generation and editing.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Is Windsurf shut down?
No. After Google's reverse-acquihire took the founders, Cognition (Devin's maker) acquired the remaining product on July 14, 2025. Windsurf still ships.
Why did Google not just buy Windsurf?
Google structured it as a $2.4B non-exclusive license plus an acquihire of the founders, likely to avoid antitrust scrutiny.
How does Cognition fit in?
Cognition owns Devin (an autonomous coding agent). Windsurf gives them a real IDE surface to deploy Devin inside.
Should I migrate to Cursor?
Many users have. Cursor remains the most mature standalone AI IDE. Windsurf is still viable, but its roadmap is now Cognition-controlled.