OpenAI is in talks to acquire AI coding assistant Windsurf. This follows failed attempts to acquire Anysphere, the creator of Cursor. The move underscores OpenAI’s ambition in the growing market for code generation.
The market for AI-driven coding assistants is growing rapidly, and OpenAI clearly wants to play an important role in it. The company sees great potential in tools that help developers write and edit programming code. These AI coding assistants are becoming increasingly popular in the developer community.
Windsurf in OpenAI’s sights
CNBC and Bloomberg report that OpenAI is in talks to acquire Windsurf for around $3 billion. According to reports, Windsurf generates annual recurring revenue (ARR) of approximately $40 million.
OpenAI wanted to acquire Anysphere
Interestingly, OpenAI previously attempted to acquire Anysphere, the company behind the popular AI coding assistant Cursor. OpenAI’s Startup Fund already invested in Anysphere at the end of 2023. According to sources, OpenAI approached Anysphere last year and again earlier this year about a possible acquisition, but those talks didn’t come to an agreement. Anysphere, often referred to simply as Cursor, is reported to have an ARR of around $200 million and has recently been in talks for a new round of investment at a valuation of around $10 billion.
Strategic importance
OpenAI’s move to Windsurf shows how important the code generation market has become. Although OpenAI already has its own Codex CLI ‘agent’ for writing and editing code, the potential acquisition suggests that the company does not want to wait for this tool to gain customer traction. This appears to further shape its strategic focus on the business market.
Read also: JetBrains launches its own AI code assistant