OpenAI in talks to acquire AI coding tool Windsurf

OpenAI is in advanced talks to acquire Windsurf, an AI-assisted coding tool formerly known as Codeium, for about $3 billion, reports Bloomberg.

The deal highlights the surge in demand for AI-driven coding assistants and signals more industry consolidation. It also signifies the importance of the code generation market and how the ChatGPT maker wants to jump in to capture a slice of vibe coding.

Vibe coding refers to a programming style in which developers primarily use AI tools to generate code. They focus on the overall project and guide the AI rather than writing the code themselves.

If finalized, this would mark OpenAI’s largest acquisition, boosting its position in the competitive AI coding market.

Founded in 2021, Windsurf has raised $243 million from firms like Greenoaks and General Catalyst. It was last valued at $1.25 billion in 2023.

By acquiring Windsurf, OpenAI would challenge rivals like Anthropic, GitHub (owned by Microsoft), and Anysphere.

OpenAI previously acquired Rockset and Multi. The company recently closed a $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank, placing its valuation at $300 billion.

OpenAI also recently released an open-source tool, Codex CLI, which allows the company’s new models, o3 and o4-mini, to generate codes for users.