Coding assistant Cursor raises $2.3bn five months after its previous round (techcrunch.com)

Cursor, the AI coding assistant for developers, announced a $2.3 billion funding round that values the startup at $29.3 billion—more than double its $9.9 billion valuation from June’s $900 million Series C. The round was led by Accel and Coatue, with participation from strategic backers Nvidia (also an enterprise customer), Google (a model supplier), and repeat investors including Thrive Capital. The capital will be directed toward expanding Composer, Cursor’s own AI model released in October, signaling a shift from heavy reliance on external models to building in-house capabilities. Technically and strategically, this raise underscores two big themes for the AI/ML community: consolidation and verticalization. By funding Composer, Cursor aims to offload some inference and feature work it currently runs on Google, OpenAI and Anthropic models—potentially lowering latency, controlling costs, and differentiating on fine-tuned developer workflows. At the same time, close ties to Nvidia and Google suggest influence over infrastructure and model supply. The move comes as OpenAI and Anthropic intensify their own coding tools, making next year critical for Cursor to prove Composer’s performance and economics in an increasingly competitive market for developer-facing AI.