If you code — or even follow tech news — you’ve probably heard whispers (or shouts) about Cursor 1.0.
But what is Cursor? And why did it just become the fastest-growing software company in history?
Let’s break it down — this might be the future of how software gets written.
The AI Coding Tool That’s Breaking All the Records
In early June 2025, Anysphere launched Cursor 1.0, the first full public release of its AI-powered coding environment. Cursor started as a souped-up version of VS Code, but it’s now an entirely new experience:
- Code faster
- Spot bugs instantly
- Automate PR reviews
- Transform code with natural language
Cursor is designed so you can literally tell your IDE what to do — in plain English — and it handles the rest.
And developers are loving it. Just look at this:
Cursor is almost certainly the fastest company in history to reach $500M in ARR.
— Yuchen Jin (@Yuchenj_UW) June 6, 2025
o3 did research and created the following graph to show how long it took each company to grow from $0 to $500M in ARR. pic.twitter.com/l04Vd0R1t8
Yes — $500 million ARR in record time. Cursor is now valued at nearly $10 billion. Not bad for an IDE.
What’s New in Cursor 1.0?
Cursor was already fast and smart. But version 1.0 brings game-changing features:
BugBot
Your personal code reviewer. It auto-scans pull requests, finds bugs, and suggests fixes — even leaving GitHub comments.
Background Agent
A multitasking wizard that runs tasks like refactoring or generating tests while you keep coding.
Jupyter Support
Data scientists rejoice! Cursor now works natively with Jupyter notebooks.
Memories (Beta)
Cursor learns your project style (how you name variables, structure files, etc.) — and reminds you in future sessions.
One-click OAuth and Cloud Setup
Connect services like GitHub, Slack, or cloud compute platforms instantly.
Enhanced Chat & UX
Better diagrams, markdown tables, performance dashboards, and overall smoother experience.
Why Cursor Is Growing Like Crazy
Cursor’s traction isn’t just hype. Here’s why it’s exploding:
1. Viral in Big Tech
Amazon is piloting Cursor internally. Over 1,500 employees joined its internal Slack channel for it.
Google’s Sundar Pichai uses it too.
2. Product-led growth
No big enterprise sales team. Developers try Cursor → they love it → they tell friends.
That’s how you go from $0 to $500M ARR faster than anyone else.
3. It just works
Unlike many AI tools, Cursor feels fast and helpful — not clunky.
Stripe engineers say it matches their “speed of thought.”
One developer on Hacker News said:
“Each added feature gives me almost immediate return on investment.”
Real-World Examples
Here’s how people are using Cursor 1.0:
- Stripe engineer: “Tab-completion matches what I want almost every time.”
- Startup CTO: Uses BugBot + Background Agent to ship faster with fewer bugs.
- Data scientist: Prompts Cursor to auto-generate analysis cells in Jupyter.
- Senior developer: Relies on Memories to enforce code conventions across teams.
What This Means for Software Development
Cursor 1.0 shows where coding is going:
- AI-first IDEs are the future
Code editors won’t be “dumb” anymore — they’ll understand context and help you write better code. - Democratizing coding
Even less-experienced devs can now ship higher-quality software faster. - More creative workflows
With Cursor handling grunt work, developers can focus on product and experience.
What’s Next?
Cursor isn’t done. Coming soon:
- Enterprise features to help big companies adopt it.
- Smarter agent capabilities and deeper integrations.
- More defensibility — because this space is about to get competitive fast.
Conclusion
Cursor 1.0 isn’t just an IDE upgrade. It’s a glimpse of the next phase of software development.
With AI-first tools like Cursor, coding feels more like collaborating with a smart teammate than wrestling with your editor.
No wonder the world’s top engineers — and companies — are jumping on board.
If you code, you should try it. The future of software just got here.