Why this Windsurf AI engineer turned down a big Google offer

Google

Silicon Valley’s AI talent is getting murkier by the day. Amid a flurry of poaching, billion-dollar deals, and shattered expectations, one engineer’s bold move is making waves.

Prem Nair, an early employee at AI startup Windsurf, has publicly revealed why he turned down a lucrative job offer from Google DeepMind after discovering he would receive just 1% of what he believed he was owed from the deal. “I had to forfeit all of my vested shares earned over 3.5+ years,” he wrote in a detailed post on X. He described the offer as one that would "explode the same day," leaving him in a high-pressure situation with no real leverage.

Nair was Windsurf’s second employee and played a central role in its AI and code-related projects. But when Google swooped in with an “acqui-hire”absorbing Windsurf’s top 42 engineers and leadership team  things didn’t go smoothly for everyone. While founders and select staff reportedly made big money, over 200 others, including early contributors like Nair, ended up with little or no payout.

Originally, Windsurf was in talks for a $3 billion acquisition by OpenAI, which collapsed over IP concerns linked to Microsoft. Google stepped in, offering a $2.4 billion licensing deal and taking over part of the team — but not the whole company.

Now, Nair has joined Cognition AI, the creators of Devin, the coding assistant. The company, which later acquired what remained of Windsurf’s IP and infrastructure, promises equity and fair compensation for team members — something Nair says he’s ready to bet on again.

“It reminds me of the energy of the earliest days of Windsurf,” he said. After the rollercoaster he’s been through, it looks like he’s ready for a fresh start and this time, on his own terms.