TLDR;
- Anthropic has removed Windsurf’s direct access to Claude models, citing concerns over lasting partnerships.
- Windsurf users now face temporary access issues while transitioning to third-party compute options.
- The move follows rumors that OpenAI is acquiring Windsurf for $3 billion.
- Anthropic is shifting focus toward long-term partners and its own coding assistant, Claude Code.
Anthropic has ended Windsurf’s direct access to its Claude AI models, a move that has shaken the AI coding assistant space amid growing rumors that OpenAI is acquiring Windsurf. Speaking at TechCrunch Sessions: AI 2025 Thursday, Anthropic co-founder Jared Kaplan made it clear that the decision was rooted in long-term strategy rather than technical rivalry.
“It would be odd for us to be selling Claude to OpenAI,”he stated, a blunt nod to reports that Windsurf, once a trusted client, may soon be under the control of Anthropic’s most formidable competitor.
Kaplan’s comments come in the wake of Bloomberg’s report that OpenAI is finalizing a $3 billion acquisition of Windsurf. While none of the companies involved have officially confirmed the deal, the timing of Anthropic’s decision suggests a proactive shift in its partnership strategy.
Windsurf Fallout from Claude Pullback
The abrupt termination has left Windsurf scrambling to fill capacity using third-party compute providers. Users of Windsurf’s Claude 3.5 and 3.7 Sonnet models are already seeing the effects, with performance interruptions and access restrictions. Windsurf’s CEO Varun Mohan expressed frustration publicly, stating they had been willing to pay for full access and were given little time to adjust.
With its Claude access now limited to “bring-your-own-key” integrations, Windsurf has had to reconfigure how users connect to the model. Free-tier users and trial accounts have been cut off completely, a move Windsurf says was not in its control. Meanwhile, competitors like Cursor and Devin continue to operate with full Claude 4 access, giving them an edge in the increasingly crowded AI coding tools landscape.
Anthropic Repositions Around Claude
As Windsurf scrambles, Anthropic is doubling down on its own agentic coding assistant, Claude Code. Kaplan shared that the company sees more potential in building autonomous tools rather than continuing the conventional chatbot format. “Chatbots are static,” Kaplan explained, adding that AI agents with more flexibility will be more helpful to developers in the long run.
The Claude Code initiative highlights Anthropic’s broader pivot away from offering model access to short-term partners. Kaplan emphasized that capacity constraints have played a role in the decision but stressed that the real goal is fostering sustainable relationships. He noted that new infrastructure from partner Amazon is starting to come online, which could soon allow wider access to Claude models for chosen collaborators.
Acquisition Rumors
The Windsurf fallout comes at a delicate time for Anthropic, which is also facing legal pressure. This week Reddit filed suit against the company, alleging that Anthropic scraped its content to train Claude without permission. The lawsuit reflects growing scrutiny on how AI companies acquire and use training data, especially as competition intensifies between players like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google.
For Windsurf, the OpenAI acquisition rumors have created more uncertainty than opportunity. Though the deal could provide scale and resources, it may come at the cost of its independence and access to critical tools like Claude. As the AI development arms race accelerates, companies on the fringe of Big AI’s power blocs may find themselves choosing sides or losing access altogether.
