OpenAI Considers Acquiring Anysphere, Shifts Focus to Windsurf for $30 Billion

OpenAI, the company behind the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT, had considered acquiring Anysphere, the creator of the widely-used AI programming tool Cursor, before shifting its focus to another competitor, Windsurf. This revelation comes as OpenAI continues to expand its portfolio of AI tools and services.

Cursor, which has been tried by millions of users, was described by OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy as a tool for "vibe coding" in February of this year. The tool has gained significant traction, particularly after it was integrated with Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet model, which provided programming assistance. This integration led to comparisons with Microsoft's GitHub Copilot, with some programmers preferring Cursor for its capabilities.

OpenAI's interest in Cursor was not a one-time consideration. According to sources, the company had initial discussions with Anysphere last year and revisited the possibility this year as Cursor's popularity surged. However, these talks did not progress to a successful acquisition. OpenAI has since been in negotiations to acquire Windsurf, an AI coding tool, for approximately 30 billion dollars, which would be its most expensive acquisition to date.

OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, recently announced the release of new reasoning models, o3 and o4-mini, which he described as excellent for programming. These models are now available for use in Cursor, further integrating OpenAI's technology with the popular tool. Anysphere, the company behind Cursor, has been in talks to raise funds at a valuation close to 100 billion dollars, indicating its significant growth and potential.

Anysphere, based in San Francisco, was founded in 2022 and has seen rapid growth, with recurring revenue exceeding 1 billion dollars by January of this year. The company's investors include prominent firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark, Thrive Capital, and the OpenAI Startup Fund. Cursor is built on top of Microsoft's open-source Visual Studio Code editor, leveraging its widespread use and familiarity among developers.

OpenAI's exploration of acquiring Anysphere highlights the intense competition and rapid innovation in the AI programming tools market. As companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, and others invest heavily in AI, the landscape is evolving quickly, with new tools and services emerging to meet the growing demand for AI-assisted programming. The integration of AI into software development is transforming the industry, making it easier for developers to write code and automate tasks, but also raising concerns about the potential for AI-assisted cheating in job interviews and other professional settings.