Ace Investor Vinod Khosla Blasts Windsurf Founders For Abandoning Team After $3 Billion OpenAI Deal Fell Apart: 'I Would Not Work With The WeWork Founder Either'
Over the weekend, billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla criticized the co-founders of AI startup Windsurf for walking away from their team after a failed multibillion-dollar acquisition by ChatGPT-parent OpenAI.
What Happened: Varun Mohan and Douglas Chen, the co-founders of Windsurf, were reportedly in late-stage talks to sell the startup to OpenAI for $3 billion. However, after the deal collapsed unexpectedly, both founders quickly departed for positions at Alphabet Inc.'s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google DeepMind, leaving the rest of their team in disarray.
Jeff Wang, formerly Windsurf's head of business and now its CEO, described the situation as "crazy" in a post on X, formerly Twitter, noting the emotional toll it took on staff.
"Some people were upset about financial outcomes or colleagues leaving, while others were worried about the future. A few were in tears," he wrote.
Also Read: Apple Undergoing Major Management Overhaul, But CEO Tim Cook To Stay On
Khosla, whose firm backs AI startup Cognition, which absorbed parts of Windsurf, weighed in on X, saying, "Windsurf and others are really bad examples of founders leaving their teams behind and not even sharing the proceeds… I definitely would not work with their founders next time."
Khosla's remarks came in response to a podcast clip featuring Cognition CEO Scott Wu, who said, "There's an unspoken covenant that as a founder, you go down with the ship."
Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox.
When challenged by a user for being hypocritical, Khosla doubled down. He said, "Absolutely not hypocritical about it. I would not work with the WeWork founder either!"
Why It’s Important: Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, has played a key role in funding cutting-edge technologies, including biomedicine, robotics and artificial intelligence.
He was among the first to back OpenAI and reportedly invested $50 million in the company behind ChatGPT.
In 1982, Khosla co-founded Sun Microsystems, which was eventually acquired by Oracle Corp. Prior to launching Khosla Ventures, he spent significant time at Kleiner Perkins, where he earned recognition as a forward-thinking tech investor.
Forbes estimates his net worth at $9.9 billion. Known for embracing high-risk, high-reward opportunities, Khosla has led his firm to invest in notable companies like Affirm and DoorDash.
Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.
Read Next:
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo Courtesy: Elle Aon on Shutterstock
© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Posted-In: News
