Windsurf: OpenAI’s potential $3B bet to drive the ‘vibe coding’ movement

‘Vibe coding’ is a term of the moment, as it refers to a more accepted use of AI and natural language prompts for basic code completion. 

OpenAI is reportedly looking to get in on the movement — and own more of the full-stack coding experience — as it eyes a $3 billion acquisition of Windsurf (formerly Codeium). If the deal materializes, it would be OpenAI’s most expensive acquisition to date. 

The news comes on the heels of the company’s release of o3 and o4-mini, which are capable of “thinking with images,” or more intuitively understanding low-quality sketches and diagrams. This development follows the launch of the GPT-4.1 model family. The AI company nobody can stop talking about also recently raised a $40 billion funding round. 

Industry watchers and insiders have been abuzz about the potential deal, as it could not only make OpenAI an even bigger industry player than ...