Following SpaceX's acquisition of Cursor, a key open question is whether the AI coding assistant can continue serving as a multi-model platform after the deal closes later this year. Cursor has historically allowed users to choose from models offered by Anthropic, OpenAI, and other AI labs, even as it has begun training its own models in recent years. Both Anthropic and OpenAI count Cursor among their largest customers and feature the startup in their marketing materials.
According to people close to Cursor, the company hopes to keep operating its AI coding product as a platform after the acquisition, serving models from Anthropic, OpenAI, and other labs alongside its own. SpaceX would gain Cursor's assets, customer contracts, and intellectual property, meaning OpenAI and Anthropic would have to do business with Elon Musk to reach Cursor's users. The deal has not yet closed and remains subject to "requisite regulatory approvals," according to documents SpaceX filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The acquisition is likely to intensify competition between Cursor and the AI labs, as OpenAI's Codex and Anthropic's Claude Code have become major lines of business that increasingly overlap with Cursor. Eno Reyes, cofounder and CTO of Factory—a competing AI coding startup—told the outlet the decision is not "black and white" and that it is "super unclear" whether SpaceX's rivals will cut Cursor off. Cursor declined to comment, while Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment.