Cognition AI buys Windsurf as AI frenzy escalates

Cognition AI, an artificial intelligence startup that offers a software coding assistant, said Monday that it had bought rival Windsurf as part of an escalating battle to lead in the technology.

The move follows a $2.4 billion deal by Google to acquire some of Windsurf’s top executives and license the startup’s technology, which was revealed Friday. Google’s deal appeared to leave Windsurf in a difficult position as a stand-alone startup. OpenAI, the maker of the ChatGPT chatbot, had also been in talks to buy Windsurf before the Google deal.