OpenAI Announces Gradual End to Cursor Partnership, Cites Distrust of Musk; Cursor Annual Contribution
OpenAI said on Friday it will wind down its partnership with AI coding tool Cursor, citing an inability to trust Elon Musk after his SpaceX acquired Cursor for USD 60 billion. Cursor was once a top-five OpenAI customer by revenue in early 2026, with projected annualized contribution exceeding USD 1 billion. OpenAI's annualized revenue now exceeds USD 40 billion. Cursor CEO Michael Truell disputed the figure, saying OpenAI models serve only about 5% of Cursor traffic. OpenAI product chief Thibault Sotiaux rejected token usage as a revenue measure and demanded Truell's methodology. No party commented further.
OpenAI announced last Friday that it will gradually terminate its partnership with AI coding tool Cursor. The company said it cannot trust Elon Musk, because Musk's SpaceX recently acquired Cursor for USD 60 billion.
In early 2026, Cursor was one of OpenAI's top five customers by revenue. In spring 2026, OpenAI estimated, based on partnership performance, that Cursor would bring in over USD 1 billion in annualized revenue. OpenAI's current annualized revenue exceeds USD 40 billion, including subscriptions, advertising, and its AI coding tool Codex.
Cursor founder and CEO Michael Truell responded on social media, claiming that OpenAI models serve only about 5% of Cursor's user traffic. OpenAI's head of core products, Thibault Sotiaux, countered that token usage is not a valid measure of revenue or value creation, and demanded that Truell disclose his calculation method. As of now, OpenAI, SpaceX, and Cursor have not responded to requests for comment.