He Rejected OpenAI’s ₹25,794 Cr Offer

At just 28, he built Windsurf, a cutting-edge AI startup pushing the limits of machine reasoning. When OpenAI came knocking with a jaw-dropping ₹25,794 crore ($3.1B) acquisition offer, most would’ve folded instantly.

But Varun didn’t.

Instead, he turned it down—and shook hands with Google instead.

A ₹20,633 Cr Deal with Google’s DeepMind

Instead of selling out, Varun licensed Windsurf's foundation tech to Google in a ₹20,633 crore ($2.5B) deal and integrated into DeepMind, their top AI arm. His technology is running some of the world's most sophisticated reason engines.

The deal wasn't just about cash—it was about vision and control over the long term, according to industry insiders.

"It wasn't about who offered more," Varun said.

"It was about who shared our mission to make AI smarter, safer, and more transparent."

From Student to Startup Star

Born in India, Varun was a computer science student at MIT before being obsessed with AI capable of understanding cause and consequence something standard models faltered on.

He founded Windsurf in stealth mode, developing models that mimic human-style logic and intuition, instead of just predicting patterns. Within two years, the startup hit a $3 billion valuation—all without any social media hype or flashy press.

Why He Said No to OpenAI

OpenAI’s offer shocked many. The valuation was massive. The attention was global. But to Varun, the freedom to steer Windsurf’s direction meant more.

He wanted to stay in the driver’s seat not hand over the keys.

“We’re building something bigger than chatbots,”

he told a tech magazine.

“We’re building reasoning itself.”

Now Powering the Future of AI at Google

Today, Varun is working with DeepMind on systems that will form the next wave of artificial general intelligence (AGI). Windsurf’s technology is now being used to train models that don’t just answer but understand.

And whereas everybody else is still arguing about AI ethics, Varun is in the room where the future is actually being built.