Cursor vs OpenAI: Founders, CEOs and History
Cursor was founded in 2022 by Michael Truell, Sualeh Asif, Aman Sanger and is led by Michael Truell. OpenAI was founded in 2015 by Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Greg Brockman and is led by Sam Altman.
Company facts
Founders
Cursor
Michael Truell
Michael Truell is co-founder and CEO of Anysphere (Cursor). He co-founded the company in 2022 as an MIT student and led it through funding rounds at $400 million, $9.9 billion and $29.3 billion valuations, the growth of annualized revenue past $4 billion, and…
Sualeh Asif
Sualeh Asif is a co-founder of Anysphere and serves as chief product officer, overseeing the Cursor product.
Aman Sanger
Aman Sanger is a co-founder of Anysphere who works on Cursor's models and research. In March 2026 he publicly acknowledged that not mentioning the Kimi base model in the Composer 2 launch post was a miss.
Arvid Lunnemark
Arvid Lunnemark co-founded Anysphere in 2022 and worked on Cursor's early technical architecture. He left the company in October 2025 to found Integrous Research, a safety-focused AI research lab.
OpenAI
Sam Altman
Sam Altman co-chaired OpenAI at its 2015 founding and became CEO in 2019. He negotiated the Microsoft partnership, oversaw the ChatGPT launch in 2022, survived the board's brief attempt to remove him in November 2023, and led the October 2025 recapitalization…
Elon Musk
Elon Musk was an early co-chair and funder of OpenAI and left its board in February 2018. He later founded rival xAI in 2023 and sued OpenAI, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman in 2024, arguing the company abandoned its nonprofit mission.
Greg Brockman
Greg Brockman left his role as Stripe CTO to co-found OpenAI in 2015 and serves as president.
Ilya Sutskever
Ilya Sutskever was OpenAI's chief scientist from 2015 to May 2024, overseeing work behind the GPT series and ChatGPT. He voted to remove Sam Altman in November 2023, then said he regretted it. After leaving OpenAI he co-founded Safe Superintelligence Inc.
CEOs and their tenures
Cursor
- Jordan Topoleski
Chief Operating Officer
Runs operations, as listed in company reporting in 2025.
Source - Michael Truell2022–present
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Led Cursor from founding through $4B+ annualized revenue and the $60B sale to SpaceX; remains CEO.
Source - Sualeh Asif2022–present
Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer
Oversees the Cursor product.
Source - Aman Sanger2022–present
Co-Founder
Works on Cursor's models and research; publicly addressed the Composer 2 disclosure in March 2026.
Source - Arvid Lunnemark2022–2025
Co-Founder
Early technical architecture; left in October 2025 to start Integrous Research.
Source
OpenAI
- Greg Brockman2015–present
President and Co-founder
Former Stripe CTO; returned from a 2024 sabbatical and remains president.
Source - Mira Murati2018–2024
Chief Technology Officer and interim CEO (former)
Served as interim CEO for two days in November 2023; left OpenAI in 2024.
Source - Sam Altman2019–present
Chief Executive Officer
Co-founder and CEO who turned OpenAI from a research lab into a consumer and enterprise platform; briefly removed by the board in November 2023 and reinstated days later.
Source - Fidji Simo2025–2026
CEO of Applications (former)
Former Instacart CEO who ran ChatGPT and other applications; stepped down from the full-time role in July 2026 for health reasons and stayed on as an adviser.
Source - Vijaye Raji2025–present
CTO of Applications
Statsig founder who joined via the 2025 acquisition to head product engineering for ChatGPT and Codex.
Source
Timeline: Cursor and OpenAI side by side
2015OpenAI
OpenAI founded as a nonprofit
OpenAI launched in December 2015 as a nonprofit AI research lab.
2019OpenAI
Capped-profit entity and Microsoft deal
OpenAI created a capped-profit subsidiary and received a $1 billion investment from Microsoft.
2022Cursor
Company founded
Anysphere incorporated by four MIT students.
2022OpenAI
ChatGPT launch
ChatGPT launched on November 30, 2022 and reached 100 million users faster than any prior consumer app.
2023Cursor
Seed round
$8 million seed led by the OpenAI Startup Fund announced in October.
2023OpenAI
Board crisis
The nonprofit board removed Sam Altman in November 2023; he returned as CEO within days and the board was rebuilt.
2024Cursor
Series A and Supermaven deal
$60 million Series A at a $400 million valuation; Supermaven acquired in November.
2025Cursor
Series C at $9.9 billion
$900 million round led by Thrive Capital in June as ARR passes $500 million.
2025Cursor
Cursor 2.0 and Composer
October release adds Cursor's own Composer model and parallel agents; co-founder Arvid Lunnemark departs.
2025Cursor
Series D at $29.3 billion
$2.3 billion round co-led by Accel and Coatue with Google and Nvidia participating; ARR above $1 billion. Graphite acquisition agreed in December.
2025OpenAI
Acquired Jony Ive's io
OpenAI agreed to buy hardware startup io for just under $6.5 billion in an all-equity deal.
2025OpenAI
Recapitalization into OpenAI Group PBC
In October 2025 the for-profit became a public benefit corporation controlled by the OpenAI Foundation; Microsoft received about 27%.
2026Cursor
Composer 2 launch
March release built on Moonshot AI's Kimi K2.5 open-weight model.
2026Cursor
SpaceX option and purchase
April 21 option deal; June 16 exercise; August 14 close at $60 billion in SpaceX stock.
2026OpenAI
$122B funding round
OpenAI closed $122 billion in committed capital at an $852 billion post-money valuation on March 31, 2026.
2026OpenAI
Run rate nears $70B
Axios reported in September 2026 that annual recurring revenue was nearing $70 billion.
Acquisitions
Cursor
- Koala (team)2025Undisclosed
- Graphite2025Undisclosed
- Supermaven2024Undisclosed
OpenAI
- io Products2025$6.5B
- Statsig2025$1.1B
- Rockset2024Undisclosed
- Global Illumination2023Undisclosed
Questions about Cursor vs OpenAI
Who is the CEO of Anysphere Inc. (Cursor) and OpenAI?
Anysphere Inc. (Cursor) is led by Michael Truell and OpenAI is led by Sam Altman. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Anysphere Inc. (Cursor) founded vs OpenAI?
OpenAI was founded in 2015 — 7 years before Anysphere Inc. (Cursor), which was founded in 2022. OpenAI's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Anysphere Inc. (Cursor).
How many employees does Anysphere Inc. (Cursor) have compared to OpenAI?
Anysphere Inc. (Cursor) employs approximately 300 people, while OpenAI employs approximately 4,500. OpenAI has the larger workforce at 4,500 employees, compared to Anysphere Inc. (Cursor)'s 300. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Anysphere Inc. (Cursor) and OpenAI headquartered?
Both Anysphere Inc. (Cursor) and OpenAI are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Anysphere Inc. (Cursor) and OpenAI?
Anysphere Inc. (Cursor) was founded by Michael Truell, Sualeh Asif, Aman Sanger, Arvid Lunnemark. OpenAI was founded by Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever.
Which company has a longer operating history — Anysphere Inc. (Cursor) or OpenAI?
OpenAI has been operating for approximately 11 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Anysphere Inc. (Cursor) has been in operation for around 4 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Cursor vs OpenAI overview