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As AI-powered instruments unfold by means of enterprise software program stacks, the speedy progress of the AI coding platform Windsurf is changing into a case research of what occurs when builders undertake agentic tooling at scale.
In a session at at the moment’s VB Rework 2025 convention, CEO and co-founder Varun Mohan mentioned how Windsurf’s built-in growth surroundings (IDE) surpassed a million builders inside 4 months of launch. Extra notably, the platform now writes over half of the code dedicated by its consumer base.
The dialog, moderated by VentureBeat CEO Matt Marshall, opened with a short however pointed disclaimer: Mohan couldn’t touch upon OpenAI’s extensively reported potential acquisition of Windsurf.
The problem has drawn consideration following a Wall Road Journal report detailing a brewing standoff between OpenAI and Microsoft over the phrases of that deal and broader tensions inside their multi-billion-dollar partnership. In keeping with the WSJ, OpenAI seeks to amass Windsurf with out giving Microsoft entry to its mental property— a problem that might reshape the enterprise AI coding panorama.
With that context put aside, the session targeted on Windsurf’s expertise, enterprise traction, and imaginative and prescient for agentic growth.
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Windsurf’s IDE is constructed round what the corporate calls a “mind-meld” loop—a shared mission state between people and AI that allows full coding flows slightly than autocomplete strategies. With this setup, brokers can carry out multi-file refactors, write take a look at suites, and even launch UI modifications when a pull request is initiated.
Mohan emphasised that coding help can’t cease at code era. “Solely about 20 to 30% of a developer’s time is spent writing code. The remaining is debugging, reviewing, and testing. To actually help, an AI system wants entry to all these knowledge sources,” he defined.
Windsurf just lately embedded a browser inside its IDE, permitting brokers to check modifications, learn logs, and work together with stay interfaces instantly—very similar to a human engineer would.
Safety and management by design
As AI begins to take part in enterprise growth cycles actively, Windsurf’s emphasis on built-in safety has confirmed important. “We use a hybrid mannequin for enterprise deployments—not one of the personalised knowledge is saved outdoors the consumer’s tenant. Safety is core, particularly with options like our built-in browser agent,” mentioned Mohan.
These capabilities have already made Windsurf a viable possibility for regulated industries. Its brokers are deployed on large codebases, together with these at JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley.
Mohan added that as AI turns into extra accessible throughout roles, safety will develop into a gating issue for productiveness. “If everybody at an organization will contribute to expertise in a roundabout way, the lacking piece is safety. You don’t desire a one-off system constructed by a non-technical consumer destroying one other service,” he mentioned.
Small groups, speedy testing
Internally, Windsurf organizes into lean squads of three or 4 engineers, every targeted on testing a slender set of product hypotheses.
“There’s a perception that one-person billion-dollar corporations are the longer term. However in actuality, extra folks help you develop sooner and construct higher merchandise. The bottom line is organizing into small, targeted groups that take a look at hypotheses in parallel,” Mohan defined.
This mannequin has helped the corporate iterate shortly in an area the place foundational AI fashions—and consumer wants—evolve at breakneck velocity.
Personalization at scale
Windsurf’s greatest optimization at enterprise scale isn’t sooner token era or smaller fashions—it’s relevance. “At scale, the largest optimization is personalization. Deeply understanding the codebase permits the agent to make maintainable, large-scale modifications that mirror consumer intent,” mentioned Mohan.
Quite than relying solely on general-purpose code era, Windsurf’s system learns every buyer’s stack’s construction, type, and preferences.
Constructing for future fashions
Wanting ahead, Windsurf is designing its platform to stay adaptable because the capabilities of underlying AI fashions proceed to develop.
“Each step-function enchancment in basis fashions calls for a serious product rethink. As brokers develop into extra succesful, our job is to construct the platform to handle and orchestrate lots of them successfully,” Mohan mentioned.
The corporate is engaged on an open protocol that can permit enterprises to combine any LLM—together with on-premises fashions—into Windsurf’s agent framework, preserving flexibility and minimizing vendor lock-in.
Proving and measuring worth
Windsurf supplies transparency into its efficiency with built-in analytics. “We offer transparency on ROI by means of metrics—like the proportion of code written by the assistant—which might be tied on to inner engineering efficiency,” Mohan mentioned.
This strategy permits platform groups to attach agentic productiveness with enterprise influence, serving to justify additional funding.
Targeted execution over flash
Lastly, when requested how Windsurf plans to distinguish itself amid competitors from OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and others, Mohan targeted on inner velocity. “The problem isn’t who’s extra seen at the moment, however who’s executing the suitable technique quick sufficient. The chance is both shifting too slowly or projecting too far out and lacking near-term relevance,” he mentioned.
Mohan additionally dismissed the concept incumbents are inevitably doomed. “There’s no elementary purpose legacy corporations like Salesforce can’t develop into AI-native. The actual limiter is their velocity of innovation, not their functionality.”
Whether or not Windsurf turns into a part of OpenAI’s future or continues independently, the corporate’s traction with enterprise clients — and its insistence on grounding AI in safe, measurable workflows — makes it a participant price watching as agentic growth enters the mainstream.
