What is Windsurf IDE?
Windsurf is an AI-powered IDE (formerly known as Codeium) that stays “ten steps ahead” of you. It goes beyond simple autocomplete: Windsurf’s Cascade agent fully understands your project and can generate, run, and debug code across files. The first agentic IDE, and then some. The Windsurf Editor is where the work of developers and AI truly flow together, allowing for a coding experience that feels like literal magic.Windsurf is a new name for Codeium IDE for programming based on VSCode. What makes it special is that it has built-in AI features (VSCode does too btw). One thing that I really like about Windsurf is the Cascade mode, and specifically temporal awareness.Windsurf’s initial promise was a game-changer: a free, privacy-focused editor with pro-level AI tools. But when credits don’t work and support ignores you, it’s impossible to rely on it for real projects. Developers need tools that respect their time and trust, not ones that leave them stranded.Windsurf is built around a highly customizable and minimal setup, allowing users to set up the environment to fit specific workflows. IntelliJ IDEA provides a different experience by offering a ready-to-use environment out of the box.
How much does Windsurf IDE cost?
Windsurf offers a limited free plan that includes a two-week Pro trial and five prompt credits/month. Windsurf’s pricing for Pro currently starts at $15/month, which includes 500 prompt credits. Per a recent pricing change, tool calls—like reading a file—no longer consume additional credits. As of mid-2025, Windsurf offers four pricing plans: Free, Pro, Teams, and Enterprise. Here’s a breakdown of what you get in each.Varun Mohan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Windsurf, the leading AI-native IDE, which has over a million users and generates over 50% of all committed software across thousands of companies.Both Cursor and Windsurf have a free plan. As part of the free plan, you get several slow premium requests (this means you get to use premium models, but slower).For those who don’t know, today it was announced that OpenAI bought WindSurf, the AI-assisted IDE, for 3 billion USD. Previously, they tried to buy Cursor, the leading company that offers AI-assisted IDE, but didn’t agree on the details (probably on the price).Windsurf is one of the best AI coding tools I’ve ever used. Windsurf is simply better from my experience over the last month. Windsurf UX beats Cursor for novices like me.
Is the Windsurf IDE free?
Windsurf’s initial promise was a game-changer: a free, privacy-focused editor with pro-level AI tools. But when credits don’t work and support ignores you, it’s impossible to rely on it for real projects. Developers need tools that respect their time and trust, not ones that leave them stranded. Conclusion. Windsurf AI impressed me. It’s a significant step towards truly AI-assisted development that goes far beyond simple code completion. The ability of Cascade to understand project context and generate substantial, well-structured code for a web application like my To-Do app was a real “wow” moment.The first agentic IDE, and then some. The Windsurf Editor is where the work of developers and AI truly flow together, allowing for a coding experience that feels like literal magic.VS Code gives you control. Windsurf gives you a collaborator. In a future where codebases are complex, multimodal, and fast-changing, developers need more than suggestions. They need environments that understand.Windsurf focuses on inline suggestions, single-file refactoring, and small-context transformations. While you can prompt project-wide changes like variable renaming, it lacks an agent-based system for coordinated, multi-file updates. GitHub Copilot, particularly with Agent Mode, supports broader automation.Varun Mohan, CEO of Windsurf, shares how building an AI-native IDE is reshaping software development—from optimizing LLM latency to enabling non-engineers to ship code.
Who owns Windsurf?
OpenAI acquires Windsurf for $3 billion to boost coding capabilities. OpenAI has agreed to acquire Windsurf, the AI-powered coding platform, for $3 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg. OpenAI is reportedly finalizing its acquisition of Windsurf (formerly Codeium) for approximately $3 billion – an enormous sum for a company that’s only a few years old. But the deal – OpenAI’s largest to date – has raised quite a few questions, the biggest being: Why is an AI code editor worth three billion dollars?OpenAI agrees to buy Windsurf for about $3 billion, Bloomberg News reports | Reuters.OpenAI is reportedly purchasing Windsurf (aka Codeium) for a cool $3B. Windsurf is the second-largest AI-assisted software development platform behind Cursor (aka Anysphere). The company is estimated to have revenue of $100M, so this valuation represents an insanely high 30x revenue.
Who made Windsurf IDE?
Varun Mohan is the co-founder and CEO of Windsurf (formerly Codeium), an AI-powered development environment (IDE) that has been used by over 1 million developers in just four months and has quickly emerged as a leader in transforming how developers build software. Varun Mohan’s journey from MIT graduate to unicorn founder is a masterclass in vision, adaptability, and execution. By pivoting from Exa Function to Codeium, launching for free to gain traction, and scaling sales with discipline, he turned a bold idea into a billion-dollar reality.
Is OpenAI buying Windsurf?
OpenAI’s $3 billion acquisition of coding startup Windsurf has reportedly strained its deep partnership with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) over access to AI intellectual property. OpenAI just bought Windsurf, a fork of VS Code, for $3 BILLION.