OpenAI was reportedly in negotiations to acquire Anysphere, the creator of the Cursor AI coding assistant, before shifting its attention to competing firm WindSurf. Discussions with Anysphere occurred in 2024 and 2025, but both attempts fell through, prompting OpenAI to explore other acquisition opportunities. Sources indicate that OpenAI is willing to pay $3 billion for WindSurf, which would represent its largest acquisition to date. The interest in AI coding assistants arises amid a competitive landscape where tools like WindSurf and Cursor enable users with limited programming skills to create code. Recent developments in AI costs and performance have raised questions about the long-standing assumption that scale requires substantial computing resources. OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman observes that despite expectations of high revenues from AI subscriptions, significant challenges remain for large-scale AI developers, especially in competing against agile, lower-cost open-source projects.

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