Can Cursor Remain a Platform for OpenAI and Anthropic’s Models Inside SpaceX?
Key takeaways
- What was less clear was whether Cursor could remain an open platform after the deal, or if rival AI labs would continue letting it offer their models.
- That strategy allowed Cursor to offer customers whichever model was the best, or cheapest, at a given moment.
- I have my doubts about how this will actually play out, but whether or not Cursor remains model agnostic is one of the biggest questions hanging over the AI industry.
Why this matters: a development in AI with implications for how people work, create, and decide.
Photo-Illustration: WIRED Staff; Getty Images Comment Loader Save Story Save this story Comment Loader Save Story Save this story When Space X announced last month that it had agreed to acquire the popular AI coding startup Cursor for $60 billion, investors believed the deal would be a boon for both companies. Cursor would benefit from getting the computing resources of a major AI lab, which it could use to train its own models. In turn, Space X and Elon Musk would own one of the most popular AI developer tools on the market.
What was less clear was whether Cursor could remain an open platform after the deal, or if rival AI labs would continue letting it offer their models. Third-party AI models have historically played a critical role in Cursor’s business. While the company has started training its own AI models in recent years, it has always allowed users to choose from a variety of offerings from Anthropic, OpenAI, and other AI labs to power its coding assistant.
That strategy allowed Cursor to offer customers whichever model was the best, or cheapest, at a given moment. It also benefited Anthropic and OpenAI, which both count Cursor among their largest customers and feature the startup prominently in their marketing materials.