Varun Mohan is of Indian descent, having been born and raised in Sunnyvale, California, by children of Indian immigrants. He went to The Harker School in San Jose, and then to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he earned a Bachelor's and Master of Engineering in Computer Science.

Google wants its AI models to become bigger in coding. It has now hired the CEO of one of the top startups in that area.

In a surprising move, Cognition– the makers of autonomous coding tool Devin— acquired what was left of its rival Windsurf after the company’s cofounders Varun Mohan and Douglas Chen and other staff members were poached by Google DeepMind for $2.

After OpenAI’s failed bid, Windsurf's leadership joined Google, while Cognition Labs acquired the startup in a strategic AI shake-up.

Google's strategic acquisition of Windsurf leaders strengthens its AI coding efforts amidst intense competition for top talent.

Varun Mohan, a math prodigy turned MIT engineer, co-founded Windsurf, an AI startup revolutionizing software development. Google recognized Windsurf's

Varun Mohan, MIT-educated co-founder of AI startup Windsurf, was hired by Google in a move that came after OpenAI’s reported bid to acquire the company.

The move is the culmination of a turbulent period for Windsurf, and indicates that agentic IDEs have become a new battleground.

The AI talent raid seems to be intensifying. Google has now onboarded several key members from Windsurf, a startup that works on AI code generation. Varun Mohan, co-founder and CEO of Windsurf, has been brought in along with co-founder Douglas Chen and other senior research and development staff from the company.

The already fierce rivalry between AI titans is heightened by this development. Microsoft is developing its own AI-driven coding tools through "agent mode" in Visual Studio Code, and Meta recently hired Alexandr Wang, the founder of Scale AI, to lead its AI strategy as part of a $14.3 billion initiative.