Can Cursor Remain a Platform for OpenAI and Anthropic’s Models Inside SpaceX?

When SpaceX announced past period that it had agreed to acquire the fashionable AI coding startup Cursor for $60 billion, investors believed the woody would beryllium a boon for some companies. Cursor would payment from getting the computing resources of a large AI lab, which it could usage to bid its ain models. In turn, SpaceX and Elon Musk would ain 1 of the astir fashionable AI developer tools connected the market.

What was little wide was whether Cursor could stay an unfastened level aft the deal, oregon if rival AI labs would proceed letting it connection their models. Third-party AI models person historically played a captious relation successful Cursor’s business. While the institution has started training its ain AI models successful caller years, it has ever allowed users to take from a assortment of offerings from Anthropic, OpenAI, and different AI labs to powerfulness its coding assistant.

That strategy allowed Cursor to connection customers whichever exemplary was the best, oregon cheapest, astatine a fixed moment. It besides benefited Anthropic and OpenAI, which some number Cursor among their largest customers and feature the startup prominently successful their selling materials.

After SpaceX’s acquisition is finalized aboriginal this year, Cursor hopes to proceed operating its AI coding merchandise arsenic a platform—serving models from Anthropic, OpenAI, and different AI labs alongside its own—according to radical adjacent to Cursor.

I person my doubts astir however this volition really play out, but whether oregon not Cursor remains exemplary agnostic remains 1 of the biggest questions hanging implicit the AI industry.

Eno Reyes, the cofounder and main exertion serviceman of Factory, a smaller AI coding startup that competes with Cursor, says he’s not definite that SpaceX’s rivals volition automatically chopped Cursor disconnected conscionable due to the fact that it volition beryllium owned by a competing AI lab. “I don't cognize if the determination is arsenic achromatic and white,” Eno tells me. “It’s really ace unclear to us.”

Cursor declined to remark for this story. Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment.

Making Frenemies

This is not the archetypal clip that Cursor’s narration with OpenAI and Anthropic has been tested. Historically, Cursor complemented the AI labs by distributing their models done its coding platform. But present it has progressively recovered itself successful nonstop contention with them arsenic OpenAI’s Codex and Anthropic’s Claude Code person go large lines of their respective businesses. The SpaceX acquisition volition apt lone intensify that rivalry.

SpaceX and Cursor can’t accidental a batch astir however they’ll run post-acquisition, successful part, due to the fact that the woody has not yet closed and remains taxable to “requisite regulatory approvals,” according to documents SpaceX filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. But SpaceX is poised to get Cursor’s assets, lawsuit contracts, and intelligence property—meaning that OpenAI and Anthropic volition present person to bash concern with Musk if they privation to scope Cursor’s users.

Once the acquisition is finalized, it’s imaginable SpaceX volition determine it doesn’t privation to nonstop concern towards Anthropic and OpenAI, 2 of its biggest competitors successful the frontier AI improvement space. Anthropic and OpenAI whitethorn find they are unwilling to merchantability their AI models done a merchandise owned by Musk, who some companies’ CEOs, Dario Amodei and Sam Altman, person butted heads with successful the past.

Historically, AI labs person not played nicely erstwhile it comes to selling AI models to 1 another. Last year, Anthropic was speedy to cut disconnected entree to Windsurf aft quality broke that OpenAI was acquiring the AI coding startup (the woody yet didn’t cookware out). Anthropic cofounder Jared Kaplan said astatine the clip that it “would beryllium unusual to merchantability Claude to OpenAI.” In the months since, Anthropic has worked to bounds OpenAI and SpaceX from utilizing its Claude AI models.