When news emerged that OpenAI was in negotiations to acquire the AI coding company Windsurf for $3 billion, a question arose among industry followers: “Why not acquire Cursor creator Anysphere instead?”
OpenAI has been an investor in Anysphere, the developer of Cursor, ever since the rapid growth of the coding assistant following its seed round in late 2023. Anysphere is often referred to by its product name, Cursor. According to a CNBC report, OpenAI had approached Anysphere in 2024 and again earlier this year for a potential acquisition, but the discussions did not materialize. Instead, Anysphere has been engaged in talks to raise capital at a valuation of approximately $10 billion, as reported by Bloomberg last month.
OpenAI’s interest in acquiring another coding assistant company highlights the significance of capturing a segment of the code generation market for the developer of ChatGPT. Windsurf is reportedly generating about $40 million in annualized recurring revenue (ARR), according to a report by TechCrunch in February. In comparison, Anysphere’s Cursor is estimated to generate around $200 million on an ARR basis.
Despite OpenAI’s release of Codex CLI, an open-source coding tool capable of writing and editing code, the company’s move to pursue the acquisition of Windsurf indicates a desire not to wait for Codex CLI to establish itself with customers.
