OpenAI is in talks to buy the AI-native code editor Windsurf, which we at Neowin have reported on frequently in recent months. Unlike Visual Studio Code which lets you install AI tools as extensions, Windsurf has AI tools deeply baked into the editor itself. This has made it a very popular choice, with many people switching to it from other editors like Cursor, which also uses AI.
According to Bloomberg, which caught wind of the talks via a person familiar with the matter, OpenAI is looking to buy Windsurf for around $3 billion. In February, TechCrunch reported that Windsurf was trying to raise funds at a valuation of $2.85 billion; that’s pretty close to what OpenAI is looking to pay.
If OpenAI does go ahead and buy Windsurf at $3 billion, it will be the company’s largest acquisition to date, but not its first. It has previously acquired other startups including a vector database company called Rockset and a remote collaboration platform called Multi. Worryingly, on its website, Multi has a notice that on joining OpenAI, it had shut down.
Given Windsurf’s growing popularity, and its decent free tier, it would be a big blow if OpenAI decided to convert it into some sort of paid product or shut it down entirely. OpenAI isn’t exactly known for its low-cost premium plans, so many programmers and those into vibe coding may have to look for another tool to use instead.
At this stage, the two companies are only having talks so nothing may happen, but if it does, it will certainly be interesting to see what happens with Windsurf. Interestingly, with the recent launch of GPT-4.1, o3 and o4-mini, Windsurf is allowing free users to try out these models for one week, it’s unclear if this has anything to do with the ongoing talks.
3 Comments - Add comment