Anysphere Targets AI Coding Power Users with $200 Cursor ‘Ultra’ Plan

Anysphere, the startup behind the AI-powered code editor Cursor, is escalating the battle for developer loyalty by launching a premium subscription tier aimed squarely at its most intensive users. The company has unveiled “Ultra,” a $200-per-month plan providing 20 times more usage than its standard Pro tier, signaling a strategic pivot toward market segmentation in the white-hot AI coding space.

This move is underpinned by multi-year partnerships with the industry’s foundational model providers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI. It comes as Anysphere experiences meteoric financial growth. Tthe company has already reached an astonishing $500 million in annualized recurring revenue. This milestone not only validates the immense demand for specialized coding tools but also sets the stage for a new chapter of fierce competition defined by aggressive monetization and the strategic pursuit of high-value customers.

Alongside the new premium offering, Anysphere is also enhancing its standard $20 Pro plan, shifting it to an unlimited model governed by rate limits. This dual strategy appears designed to retain its broad user base while capitalizing on a growing cohort of power users who, according to the company, have been asking for more predictable, high-volume pricing.

Beyond Copilot: The AI Coding Arms Race

Anysphere’s latest move does not occur in a vacuum. The market for AI coding assistants is a fiercely contested arena where specialized startups are challenging the industry’s heaviest hitters. While Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot remains a dominant force, the landscape is rapidly evolving.

The market has started splintering away from a one-size-fits-all model, creating opportunities for focused tools to thrive. As one analyst noted, the “one-size-fits-all model is dead,” explaining that as developers build more bespoke toolchains, specialized startups “can command a premium.”

This splintering is evident in the diverse strategies of major players. Google has made an aggressive entry with Firebase Studio, a deeply integrated, browser-based development environment. Meanwhile, Amazon Web Services is reportedly developing its own AI coding service with the explicit goal of competing against Cursor and Windsurf.

This contrasts with OpenAI’s multi-pronged approach, which includes not only its powerful models in its Codex coding agent but also open-source, developer-controlled tools like the Codex CLI, which prioritizes local configuration over the all-in-one platform model that Cursor champions.

The Price of Power: Monetizing AI Development

Anysphere’s explosive growth to $500 million in ARR reveals a powerful monetization engine running beneath the code. A recent profile of Anysphere’s CEO in Forbes disclosed that over 60% of this revenue is generated not from individual developers but from enterprise team licenses.

This focus on organizational adoption is central to the company’s strategy. Anysphere CEO Michael Truell explained the enterprise appeal, stating, “individual power users got us started, but the real engine of our growth is entire engineering teams adopting Cursor. When a whole team can ‘speak’ to the same AI with the same context, productivity skyrockets. That’s our enterprise pitch.”

The new Ultra tier is a direct extension of this playbook. While the company states the Pro plan serves most users well, it created the premium option because “while the vast majority of Cursor users are well-served by our Pro plan, this change was highly requested by power users seeking more predictability than usage-based pricing would offer.”

This tiered structure allows Anysphere to capture maximum value from both individual enthusiasts and entire corporate engineering departments. It’s a model that mirrors moves by competitors like GitHub, which previously launched a pricier “Pro+” plan, and even the AI model providers themselves, who have rolled out their own expensive subscriptions for increased usage.

A Tangled Web of ‘Coopetition’

The AI coding market is increasingly being reshaped by high-stakes acquisitions and a complex network of alliances. Anysphere itself grew by acquiring the AI assistant Supermaven. However, that move was dwarfed by OpenAI’s landmark agreement to purchase Windsurf, a key Cursor competitor, for approximately $3 billion. That deal, which came together in May 2025, is now reportedly facing a national security review in the United Kingdom, according to The Information, potentially delaying its closure.

This consolidation creates a dynamic of “coopetition,” where companies are simultaneously partners and rivals. In its announcement, the company credited multi-year partnerships with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI as instrumental for the new offering, yet it directly competes with tools from those same partners. These relationships are fraught with tension.

In a clear strategic countermove following the acquisition announcement, Anthropic slashed Windsurf’s direct access to its Claude models. Despite this, some leaders remain optimistic about collaboration, with Anthropic co-founder Jared Kaplan having previously stated, “I believed Anthropic would be working with Cursor for a long time.”

To navigate this complex environment, many companies are hedging their bets by developing their own in-house models. Anysphere, for instance, has rolled out what it calls a new “Tab” AI model, which the company detailed on X is designed to handle changes across various files.

Ultimately, the launch of the Ultra plan is more than just a new pricing option. It is a declaration that the AI coding market has matured into a sophisticated business landscape. The race is no longer just about having the smartest model; it’s about identifying high-value user segments, building a defensible enterprise strategy, and skillfully navigating a tangled web of alliances where today’s partner can easily become tomorrow’s biggest competitor.