# Windsurf

> Windsurf (formerly Codeium, originally Exafunction) is a Mountain View-based AI coding company that built one of the first agentic AI-native IDEs, powered by its Cascade agent. Founded in 2021 by MIT classmates Varun Mohan and Douglas Chen, it grew to over 1 million developers and $82M ARR before a dramatic July 2025 split: Google paid roughly $2.4B to hire its founders and license its technology, while Cognition (maker of Devin) acquired the remaining product, brand, team, and customer base. In June 2026, Cognition relaunched the Windsurf IDE as Devin Desktop, an agent command center for managing local and cloud coding agents.

- **Founded:** 2021
- **Headquarters:** Mountain View, California, United States
- **Founders:** Varun Mohan (Co-founder & CEO (departed to Google DeepMind, July 2025)), Douglas Chen (Co-founder (departed to Google DeepMind, July 2025)), Jeff Wang (Interim CEO during Cognition acquisition (former Head of Business))
- **Team size:** ~250 before the split; ~210 employees moved to Cognition, ~40 senior R&D staff joined Google DeepMind
- **Products:** Windsurf Editor (now Devin Desktop), Cascade, Codeium extensions, Windsurf Enterprise / FedRAMP, SWE model family
- **Notable:** Grew from a GPU-virtualization startup (Exafunction) into an AI coding platform with over 1 million developers, Launched the Windsurf Editor in November 2024, one of the first agentic AI-native IDEs, Reached $82M ARR and 350+ enterprise customers by mid-2025

## Products & services

- **Windsurf Editor (now Devin Desktop)** — AI-native IDE built on a VS Code foundation with deep agentic integration; rebranded by Cognition as Devin Desktop in June 2026, featuring an Agent Command Center for managing local and cloud agents.
- **Cascade** — Agentic AI system inside the IDE that understands full codebase context and executes multi-step, multi-file coding tasks with human-in-the-loop approval. Succeeded by Devin Local (end-of-life July 1, 2026).
- **Codeium extensions** — AI autocomplete, chat, and search plugins for 40+ editors and 70+ programming languages, with a famously generous free tier.
- **Windsurf Enterprise / FedRAMP** — Self-hosted and GovCloud deployments (with Palantir FedStart) meeting FedRAMP High, DoD IL4/IL5, and ITAR requirements for regulated industries.
- **SWE model family** — Proprietary coding models (e.g. SWE-1, SWE-1.5) trained for software engineering workflows that power the agentic features.

## Achievements

- Grew from a GPU-virtualization startup (Exafunction) into an AI coding platform with over 1 million developers
- Launched the Windsurf Editor in November 2024, one of the first agentic AI-native IDEs
- Reached $82M ARR and 350+ enterprise customers by mid-2025
- Reached a $1.3B valuation with a $150M General Catalyst-led Series C (Sept 2024)
- First AI coding assistant generally available with FedRAMP High authorization, plus DoD IL5 and ITAR support
- Anchored one of the largest AI talent-and-license deals ever: ~$2.4B from Google (July 2025)
- Remaining business acquired by Cognition within 72 hours of the Google deal, with equity vesting accelerated for all employees

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Windsurf IDE rebranded as Devin Desktop via over-the-air update; Agent Command Center becomes the default view; supports the open Agent Client Protocol (ACP).
- **2026-06** — Devin Local, a Rust-based successor agent, replaces Cascade; Cascade end-of-life set for July 1, 2026.
- **2026-04** — Cognition reportedly raises at a ~$25B valuation with Windsurf integrated and ARR doubled.
- **2025-08** — Details emerge that Google's $2.4B split roughly evenly between investor payouts and compensation for hired employees.
- **2025-07** — OpenAI's ~$3B acquisition exclusivity expires; Google pays ~$2.4B to hire founders and license tech; Cognition acquires the remaining business days later.
- **2025-04** — Company rebrands from Codeium to Windsurf, named after its flagship editor.

## Links

- Website: https://windsurf.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/windsurf
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/windsurf_ai
- GitHub: https://github.com/Exafunction
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@windsurf_ai

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/windsurf
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-11