How This Coimbatore SaaS Firm Cracked Hidden Enterprise Problem Costing Millions
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- Published on July 16, 2025
- In AI Features
Why AI Founders Keep Betraying Startups for Big Tech Money
“The product no longer exists in any meaningful form. The heart of the company was gutted in a week.”
Image by Nalini Nirad
- By Mohit Pandey
Instead of building their own startups, many engineers in India would rather go and join a big tech company to work with a lucrative package that comes without the stress of raising funds, often at the cost of missing out on building something truly revolutionary. This even holds true for the most talented founders of Silicon Valley, and Varun Mohan, CEO of Windsurf, is just one such example.
Windsurf was envisioned as an AI code editor that could rival, and possibly even beat, Cursor. The startup was gaining traction, backed by a small but dedicated team, and early buzz suggested an OpenAI acquisition that could have cemented its place as a leading AI tool.
However, everything changed overnight. Mohan left for Google with no formal announcement or explanation to the team. The
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Mohit Pandey
Mohit writes about AI in simple, explainable, and often funny words. He's especially passionate about chatting with those building AI for Bharat, with the occasional detour into AGI.
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