Anysphere acquires Supermaven to beef up Cursor

Anysphere, the parent company of AI-powered code editor Cursor, has made headlines with its recent acquisition of AI coding assistant Supermaven for an undisclosed amount. The announcement was made by Anysphere CEO Michael Truell on Cursor’s blog, highlighting the ways in which this new partnership will elevate their offerings, specifically with the introduction of a revamped version of their Tab AI model. This model promises to be “fast, context-aware, and highly intelligent,” particularly efficient in handling longer sequences of code.

Truell reassured Supermaven users that their existing plugins will continue to be updated and maintained, even as the focus will shift significantly towards Cursor. He emphasized that this realignment of focus echoes Supermaven’s own previous strategy to transition towards creating an editor, noting that they faced limitations with extension APIs that hindered their ability to innovate. The decision to join forces was made with the vision of expediting the development of a more useful product collectively.

Supermaven was co-founded by Jacob Jackson, a notable figure in the AI coding space who previously co-founded Tabnine, an AI coding assistant before its acquisition by Codata in 2019. Jackson’s brief stint as an intern at OpenAI saw him gaining valuable industry insight before launching Supermaven in February 2023, which has since attracted over 35,000 developers. The company successfully raised $12 million from esteemed investors, including Bessemer Venture Partners and OpenAI co-founder John Schulman.

Since its inception, Supermaven has focused on enhancing coding practices through its in-house generative AI model, named Babble, which is designed to process substantial amounts of code with minimal latency, showcasing technical advancements over its competitors like Tabnine. Jackson expressed that although Supermaven was not initially poised for acquisition, the impetus for the deal surfaced as the team recognized a growing need for not just smarter technology, but also improved user interfaces that facilitate easy access to those advanced capabilities.

Jackson’s collaborative discussions with the Cursor team illuminated the potential for creating a significantly more effective product through synergy, which ultimately influenced the decision to merge their efforts. This partnership will grant the Supermaven team the opportunity to design user interfaces in concert with developing models, ensuring that user experience is central to their innovations.

This acquisition is timely for Anysphere, especially as the company has recently drawn unsolicited acquisition offers valuing it at around $2.5 billion from major venture capital firms such as Benchmark, Index Ventures, and Andreessen Horowitz. Founded in 2022 by Truell, Sualeh Asif, Arvid Lunnemark, and Aman Sanger, Anysphere has seen a surge of interest in its groundbreaking AI technologies, particularly amid the burgeoning landscape of AI-powered coding tools.

The global market for AI coding tools is burgeoning, with research firm Polaris Research estimating its worth could reach $27.17 billion by 2032. This growth is being fueled by widespread adoption among developers; statistics from GitHub’s latest developer poll reveal that a significant percentage of respondents utilize AI tools in some capacity. Furthermore, GitHub Copilot has garnered a substantial user base, boasting over 1.8 million individuals and approximately 50,000 businesses paying for the service.

The landscape of AI-assisted coding is competitive, with various startups such as Augment, Codeium, Magic, and Poolside entering the fray. However, Cursor has distinguished itself as a leading option, reportedly generating revenue of about $4 million per month, indicative of its growing popularity and robust performance in the sector.

In summary, the seamless integration of Supermaven into Anysphere’s framework is set to bolster Cursor’s offering with enhanced capabilities and a deeper understanding of user needs. As both companies focus on collaboration to innovate and improve user experience in code editing, the field of AI-powered coding tools will likely witness further advancements, benefiting developers and organizations looking to leverage technology for improving productivity and efficiency in coding tasks. The acquisitions and investments in this domain signal a clear interest in AI’s role in the future of software development.