The Windsurf Deal: AI Talent Wars & M&A Playbook

I’ve been covering the talent wars and the new playbook for M&A domination in AI in a few of my analyses.

This Week In AI Business: The Great AI Talent Wars [Week #27-2025]

Now, I want to give you a critical update that has just come out, as it carries a strong signal into how the AI race is evolving in light of two main critical aspects:

• One, the fact that where we are in the AI race, top talent has become so critical, as a slight incremental improvement across the AI models stack, can enable a big leap for any of these players.

• Two, these AI hyperscalers seem (for now) to have found the playbook to consolidate without (again for now) attracting too much attention from the regulator, and that is a critical point here.

• Many AI-native companies that scaled up but didn’t reach full market lock-in might become “acqui-hired” by any of these hyperscalers.

In short, we’re seeing the consolidation of a playbook that might stick in the coming years, and it’s a window into how the AI landscape is evolving in light of the new Talent Wars.