Cursor's most important AI features started as side projects engineers built themselves, says its engineering head (www.businessinsider.com)

Cursor's engineering head, Jason Ginsberg, revealed that many of the company's key AI features originated from engineers' personal projects rather than a formal roadmap. This bottom-up approach has fostered rapid innovation within the small team at Cursor, which currently comprises around 20 members. For instance, Ginsberg developed the "Debug Mode" over Thanksgiving to enhance team productivity, a feature that has since become integral to Cursor's offerings. The team's adaptive strategy relies on internal adoption of features as a metric for readiness, allowing engineers to swiftly prototype and iterate on ideas that gain traction. This innovative methodology highlights a growing trend in the AI/ML community, where small and agile teams can create impactful tools without the constraints of bureaucratic processes. Cursor's success story resonates with similar shifts seen at larger tech firms, such as Meta, where elite, compact teams are prioritized for cutting-edge research. As the demand for rapid development increases, Cursor exemplifies how talent-dense teams can drive significant advancements, demonstrating that nimbleness and creativity remain pivotal in the competitive landscape of artificial intelligence.