It has been clear for years that generative artificial intelligence (AI) would revolutionise the software industry, among others – after all, the technology can produce programming code in minutes that might take human developers several weeks to write. Now, business figures from developers of AI-powered coding tools, such as Anysphere from the US and Lovable from Sweden, show that demand for such applications is indeed growing.

With its popular developer assistant called Cursor, Anysphere has recently achieved an annualised revenue level of 500 million dollars, according to information the startup – founded only in 2022 – shared with news agency Bloomberg. As recently as April, the figure was around 300 million dollars. At the beginning of the year—just 14 months after Cursor’s launch – the company reported reaching 100 million dollars ARR.

Anysphere is currently referred to by its investors as „the fastest-growing startup of all time.“ That title was previously held by Israeli cybersecurity firm Wiz, which had crossed the 100 million dollars mark after 18 months.

Despite employing just over 100 people, Anysphere says its Cursor tool is already being used by more than half of all Fortune 500 companies, including Nvidia, Uber, and Adobe. The software helps developers write and edit programming code, and includes a chatbot for related queries. The company, founded by four former MIT students, now serves more than 50,000 business customers. These pay 40 dollars per month for access to Cursor, while individual users pay $20.

Anysphere isn’t the only coding startup showing significant growth with a relatively small team. Swedish competitor Lovable reached an annualized revenue of over 50 million dollars in May – around six months after launching its first product. The company, founded in 2023 and employing just 28 people, has now reached 61 million dollars in ARR, CEO and co-founder Anton Osika told Bloomberg.

Unlike Anysphere, which targets professional developers with Cursor, Lovable is primarily aimed at beginners with no coding experience. The concept has become known in the tech community as „Vibe Coding“, which refers to AI-powered web and app development based on intuitive user input. Users type commands in natural, simple language into a chatbot and receive the desired code in return. While the approach clearly simplifies coding, cybersecurity experts warn of potential risks due to vulnerabilities in AI-generated code.

Still, the technology is catching on – with both private users and companies. Lovable currently counts 130,000 paying customers. One-fifth of revenue comes from enterprise clients, a segment that is „growing very strongly“, as per CEO Osika.

The rising interest in no-code tools has not gone unnoticed by investors. Just recently, Anysphere completed its third funding round in under a year. The transaction raised 900 million dollars, led by US venture capital firm Thrive Capital. Other participants included Accel and Andreessen Horowitz, both based in the US, and UK-based DST. Anysphere was valued at 9.9 billion dollars after the transaction, according to the company.

Anysphere seems more comfortable with venture capital than with strategic investors. According to media reports, AI heavyweight OpenAI recently expressed interest in acquiring the startup. However, Anysphere turned down the offer, reportedly wanting to remain independent. In response, OpenAI announced its plan to acquire Windsurf, a competitor of Anysphere and Lovable, for 3 billion dollars.

Lovable might also be raising fresh capital soon. Bloomberg reports that the Swedish firm is currently in talks with US investors for a funding round of at least 100 million dollars. The discussions, which are still in early stages, reportedly place the company’s valuation at 1.5 billion dollars or higher.