An AI code editor from AI startup Anysphere has overtaken ChatGPT to turn into the fastest-growing software program product, attaining $100 million in income in a 12 months with out spending a dime on advertising.
Anysphere’s AI coding assistant Cursor has skyrocketed in recognition amongst particular person builders since its launch final 12 months.
Cursor, which might end traces of code, spot errors, and generate complete code blocks for builders, turned the fastest-growing product to succeed in $100 million in annual recurring income in January. It hit over a million customers final month and doubled its income by March, per a report earlier this week from Bloomberg.
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The income largely comes from Anysphere’s 360,000 particular person subscribers, who pay $20 monthly for a professional account or $40 for a enterprise account. Anysphere President Oskar Schulz instructed Bloomberg that the majority of Cursor’s income might be attributed to people who pay for it themselves, not from massive enterprises.
Cursor can be out there to make use of without cost for as much as 2,000 code completions a month.
Although Cursor is not the one coding assistant in the marketplace, it has grown partially because of its acquainted interface. Customers are drawn to Cursor’s look, which is analogous to Microsoft’s standard code editor, Visible Studio Code. Over 73% of builders globally use Visible Studio Code.
Cursor’s AI options additionally faucet into a number of giant language fashions powering AI chatbots, like OpenAI’s GPT-4o, giving the AI assistant extra computational energy.
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Whereas Anysphere has discovered paying prospects, it is unclear how a lot the startup is spending to energy its providers. In December, Anysphere raised $100 million in a Sequence B spherical at a valuation of $2.6 billion after elevating $60 million in a Sequence A spherical 4 months prior. The startup was reportedly in talks final month to boost lots of of tens of millions of {dollars} extra at a near $10 billion valuation.
Different AI startups are struggling to shut the hole between spending and income. In keeping with a report final 12 months from The New York Occasions, AI startup Anthropic, which raised $3.5 billion final month at a valuation of $61.5 billion, is spending $2 billion yearly however solely bringing in $150 million to $200 million in income. Stability AI, an AI picture firm, generated $60 million in income final 12 months towards $96 million in prices, per The Occasions.
Software program builders at OpenAI, Shopify, and Perplexity AI use Cursor, per Anysphere investor Andreessen Horowitz.
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Regardless of Cursor’s success, the AI assistant additionally has its drawbacks. One Cursor consumer discovered final month that the AI assistant stopped producing code for a racing sport after about 800 traces and inspired them to determine it out themselves.
“I can’t generate code for you… you need to develop the logic your self,” Cursor AI wrote in an error message for the consumer. “Purpose: Producing code for others can result in dependency and lowered studying alternatives.”
