The question of whether the new models will soon be able to outperform humans in the majority of jobs we perform now or achieve a level of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) has been a hot topic in the AI community as artificial intelligence systems continue to advance.
Although he avoids using the term ‘artificial general intelligence’ (AGI), Jeff Dean, the chief scientist at Google DeepMind, thinks that, with few exceptions, current AI models may already have outperformed humans in the majority of daily jobs.
Dean claims that the existing models are “better than the average person at most tasks” that don’t involve physical exertion on an episode of the Moonshot Podcast. “You know, some of the models we have today are actually pretty reasonable at most things,” Dean said, “but most people are not that good at a random task if you ask them to do something they’ve never done before.”
What did Jeff Dean say about AI vs humans?
“How far away are the current models from making breakthroughs faster than humans?” the host then asked Dean. In response, Dean stated that AI models are currently on the verge of becoming perfect in a few areas and that he believes we will expand that range.
‘That’s a very different concept,’ Dean warned, ‘because most people will fail at many things; they’re not human experts in some areas.’ “There will be a lot of domains where automated search and computation actually can accelerate progress — scientific progress, engineering progress,” he stated. “All these things I think are going to be important for advancing what we as people can do over the next five, 10, 15, or 20 years,” he said.
The AGI Debate
However, Dean decided to avoid the AGI controversy, partly due to the lack of a precise definition for the term in the artificial intelligence community. “The difficulty of the problem varies by factors of a trillion, and many people have very different definitions of it, which is why I tend to avoid AGI conversations.”
More upbeat about AGI is Dean’s boss, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, who stated in a recent interview with WIRED that the breakthrough would be made within the next five to ten years.
Quick
Shots
•Dean notes current AI models are
“better than the average person” at many non-physical tasks.
•He highlights AI’s ability to
accelerate scientific and engineering progress in coming years.
•Avoids using the term AGI due to lack
of clear definition in the AI community.
•Dean stresses that humans fail at
many random tasks, while AI shows consistent performance.
•DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis is more
bullish, predicting AGI within 5–10 years.
Varun Mohan, a first-generation American of Indian origin, has emerged as a powerful force in the AI and developer tools space. From founding the billion-dollar startup Windsurf to now working at Google DeepMind, his journey is marked by growth, innovation, and controversy.
Varun Mohan – Biography
Name
Varun Mohan
Born
1997, Sunnyvale, California, USA
Nationality
American (of Indian origin)
Profession
Former CEO of Windsurf , Present – Google DeepMind
Varun Mohan is the co-founder and former CEO of Windsurf, an AI-powered development tool startup. He was born and raised in Sunnyvale, California, to Indian immigrant parents. A technologist at heart, Mohan built a strong career across leading tech firms before launching Windsurf. In July 2025, he joined Google DeepMind following a high-profile bidding war between tech giants.Early Life and Education
Mohan grew up in Sunnyvale. His parents moved from India to the United States before his birth. He attended The Harker School in San Jose. There, he showed remarkable skill in mathematics and computer science. He took part in Olympiad contests and did well.
He went on to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At MIT, he earned both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
During his time at MIT, Mohan focused on operating systems, algorithms, distributed computing and machine learning.
Varun Mohan – Internship Experience
Mohan spent four years as a student intern at top tech companies. In 2016, he interned at Quora. He also worked with LinkedIn, Samsung, Cloudian, and Databricks. These roles gave him solid experience in data systems, machine learning, cloud storage and infrastructure.
Varun Mohan – Early Career
After graduating, Mohan joined Nuro, a company working on autonomous vehicles. He began as a software engineer in early 2018. He rose to lead autonomy infrastructure and later became a Tech Lead Manager by 2020. His work there strengthened his understanding of large-scale software systems.
Varun Mohan – Founding Windsurf
In June 2021, Mohan and MIT colleague Douglas Chen co‑founded a startup first named Codeium. It was later rebranded as Windsurf.
Windsurf set out to build an AI‑powered integrated development environment (IDE) for developers. It focused on creating “Cascade”, a voice‑enabled coding assistant. This tool lets programmers write, test and refine code through natural language prompts.
The platform quickly grew. It attracted more than one million users within months. Windsurf raised about $240–243 million and earned a valuation near $1.25 billion. It became one of the rising stars in AI developer tools.
By mid‑2025, Windsurf drew serious interest from both OpenAI and Google. OpenAI advanced talks to buy the company for a reported $3 billion. Google countered by making a $2.4 billion non‑exclusive licensing deal with Windsurf. The company did not acquire equity or control; instead, Google secured rights to use the AI tech and brought in key staff.
Moved to Google DeepMind
In July 2025, Varun Mohan, co-founder Douglas Chen, and several of Windsurf’s top engineers transitioned to Google DeepMind. Their new role focuses on building AI systems that support coding tasks under DeepMind’s Gemini programme.
Following their exit, Windsurf remained active as a separate company. The firm’s assets, including technology, products, and engineering resources, were acquired by Cognition AI. With this shift, business head Jeff Wang stepped in as interim CEO. The move was backed by prominent investors, including Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund, allowing Windsurf to continue operations under new leadership.
The shift to Google provoked a strong reaction. Critics accused Mohan of abandoning his team and disrupting a potential OpenAI deal. Some called his actions a “betrayal”. Vinod Khosla, a prominent investor, was vocal about his thoughts on the social media platform, X (formerly Twitter). He said Mohan and his co‑founder were “bad examples” and that he “definitely would not work with their founders next time.”
Online commentary was sharp. One critic even called Mohan a “generational villain”. Others accused him of ignoring his team’s future while securing a personal windfall. Defenders noted that Windsurf did find another lifeline through Cognition. Jeff Wang and other executives have kept operations running. But Mohan’s reputation in parts of the tech world has suffered.
Final Thoughts
Varun Mohan has reached the top levels of AI quickly. He built strong technical credentials and a billion‑dollar startup. His move to Google DeepMind came amid fierce industry rivalries. That move brought both praise for his vision and criticism for how it affected his team.
He now leads advanced AI work at DeepMind. His long‑term aim is to change how code is written and tested. At age 28, he remains a major figure in AI infrastructure, though his reputation bears deep scars from recent events.
FAQs
Who is Varun Mohan?
Varun Mohan is a first-generation American entrepreneur and AI expert of Indian origin. He is best known as the co-founder and former CEO of Windsurf, a billion-dollar AI coding startup. He is currently working at Google DeepMind.
What led Varun Mohan to join Google DeepMind?
In July 2025, Varun Mohan joined Google DeepMind after Google made a $2.4 billion licensing deal with Windsurf.
What does Varun Mohan do at Google DeepMind now?
At Google DeepMind, Varun Mohan leads a team working on agentic coding systems—AI tools that can write, debug, and test code with minimal human input.
At an AI firms summit in Bengaluru, tech giant Google unveiled a number of initiatives and collaborations aimed at boosting the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) firms in the nation. These initiatives assist early-stage AI entrepreneurs in developing, expanding, and gaining clients for their Google Cloud-based solutions.
Google announced the launch of the 12-week Emerging ISV Partner Springboard initiative, which is intended to accelerate the growth of AI firms. In addition to expedited onboarding to Google Cloud Marketplace, participants will receive practical assistance in creating go-to-market assets, access to Google AI specialists for product refinement, and advice on technical architectural best practices.
Google is Now Focusing on Empowering AI Startups
Supporting AI businesses to encourage innovation and expansion is a priority for Google. According to Manish Gupta, senior director, research, Google DeepMind, these efforts show Google’s commitment to giving early-stage founders the resources and assistance they need to create and grow profitable AI-powered companies.
Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian praised the creative thinking and persistence of entrepreneurs using AI and cloud technology to drive revolutionary growth during a fireside chat at the Global Google Cloud Summit in October 2024. The goal of Google Cloud, he said, is to help these trailblazers succeed by giving them the resources, tools, and guidance they require. By means of strategic alliances, customised initiatives, and cutting-edge infrastructure, Cloud is dedicated to helping companies expand their influence and propel the upcoming digital revolution.
Google for Startups Cloud Programme
Through the Google for Startups Cloud Program, which will now offer $200,000 in Google Cloud credits over two years, early-stage startups will receive more assistance, allowing them the time they need to develop and expand their ideas. With $350,000 in credits, AI-first firms will get even more help, acknowledging the higher processing demands of advanced AI development. The founders will be able to take advantage of Google Cloud’s full potential and capability thanks to this investment.
Additionally, Google and Y Combinator have teamed up to provide its Summer 2024 cohort of AI-first entrepreneurs with cloud credits, coaching, support, and dedicated access to NVIDIA H100 GPUs and Google Cloud TPUs. Furthermore, Google is working with top early-stage incubators and accelerators, such as Berkeley Skydeck, StartX, 500, and others, to provide early-stage creators with a unique bundle of technical seminars, professional advice, and Google Cloud credits.
Startup School: GenAI and Google Cloud’s Collaboration with DeliverHealth
Furthermore, Google announced the opening of Startup School: GenAI, a thorough four-week immersive training programme created to enable entrepreneurs to fully utilise artificial intelligence. This free online series features live, interactive seminars taught by Google AI specialists starting on October 29. In addition to learning best practices for creating and implementing AI solutions, participants will investigate the most recent advancements in Google Cloud AI and obtain hands-on experience with generative AI. From fundamental ideas to sophisticated methods, the programme covers a wide range of subjects, giving businesses the know-how and abilities they need to create innovative AI-powered goods and services.
In an effort to revolutionise the way healthcare practitioners record patient care, Google Cloud recently announced its partnership with DeliverHealth, a prominent company in healthcare clinical documentation. With the help of DeliverHealth’s vast collection of 150,000 audio hours of human-curated medical notes every month and Google Cloud’s cutting-edge Gemini 1.5 Pro multimodal AI models, the partnership seeks to provide a novel solution with precision, speed, and medical specificity.
According to Bikram Singh Bedi, vice president and country managing director of Google Cloud India, the two companies are working together to rethink clinical documentation in order to free up doctors to concentrate more on patient care.
