When news surfaced about OpenAI’s discussions to acquire AI coding firm Windsurf for $3 billion, many in the tech community likely wondered why OpenAI didn’t consider purchasing Anysphere, the creator of the coding assistant Cursor, instead. OpenAI’s investment arm had backed Anysphere during the startup’s seed funding round in late 2023, as Cursor’s rapid growth caught attention. According to a CNBC report, OpenAI did indeed reach out to Anysphere in 2024 and again earlier this year regarding a possible acquisition, but those talks did not culminate in a deal. Currently, Anysphere is reportedly seeking to raise funds with a valuation of around $10 billion, as noted by Bloomberg last month.
OpenAI’s shift towards pursuing Windsurf indicates its determination to secure a significant presence in the code generation market, a priority for the developers of ChatGPT. Windsurf currently boasts approximately $40 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), as reported by TechCrunch in February, while Anysphere’s Cursor is achieving around $200 million in ARR. Despite OpenAI unveiling its Codex CLI “agent” on Wednesday, which has capabilities for writing and editing code, the decision to seek out Windsurf suggests that the company is eager to invest in established solutions rather than waiting for CLI to build a customer base.
