According to Bloomberg, the manufacturer of AI programming assistant Cursor, Anysphere, has completed a $900 million funding round, valuing the company at $9.9 billion, just one step away from becoming a unicorn valued at over $10 billion. This round was led by returning investor Thrive Capital, with participation from well-known institutions such as Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, and DST Global.
A year of three funding rounds creates a growth miracle. This is Anysphere's third funding round in less than a year, showing the extreme optimism of capital markets toward the AI programming assistant sector. According to TechCrunch reports, this three-year-old startup secured $100 million in funding last December with a valuation of $2.5 billion, with its valuation surging nearly 300% within a few months.
Insiders revealed that Anysphere's annual recurring revenue (ARR) approximately doubles every two months. Sources told Bloomberg that the company's ARR has exceeded $500 million, growing 60% from the $300 million reported in mid-April, demonstrating strong commercialization capabilities.
Cursor offers tiered pricing strategies for developers, converting free trial users after two weeks into paying subscribers who can choose between a $20 professional version or a $40 enterprise version per month. It was reported that most of the company's revenue previously came from individual user subscriptions, but now it has launched enterprise licenses to provide services to corporate teams at higher prices.
Earlier this year, OpenAI and other potential buyers reached out to Anysphere, but were rejected. It was reported that the ChatGPT maker subsequently acquired another fast-growing AI assistant, Windsurf, for $3 billion, highlighting the intense competition among tech giants in the AI programming assistant sector.
AI programming assistants, known as "ambient coders," have become one of the most popular applications in the AI field, with Cursor standing out particularly. Anysphere's successful financing and rapid growth mark the transition of AI programming assistants from concept to mainstream commercial applications, bringing profound changes to the entire software development industry.