The Rise of the Mega Acqui-Hire

In a matter of weeks, OpenAI’s $3 billion bid for Windsurf collapsed. Within days, Google stepped in — not with an acquisition, but with a $2.4 billion licensing and compensation package that brought Windsurf’s leadership and key technical staff into DeepMind. The legal entity remains. The team does not. Meanwhile, Meta’s $15 billion investment for [ ]