OpenAI said Friday it is winding down Cursor access to its models, cutting off a customer it had projected would generate more than $1 billion in annualized revenue this year.
The company said it cannot trust SpaceX owner Elon Musk to honor its terms of service after SpaceX acquired Cursor, and fears its models could be misused or distilled.
Cursor CEO Michael Truell pushed back, saying OpenAI models handle only about 5% of user traffic, while OpenAI's Thibault Sottiaux said token share does not reflect revenue or value.
The split also severs a long partnership between OpenAI and the coding startup it once backed, while removing a major developer distribution channel as OpenAI expands its own Codex business.
With annualized revenue now above $40 billion and an IPO planned next year, OpenAI appears willing to absorb the loss to reduce dependence on Musk-linked companies.