OpenAI cuts off its models in coding tool Cursor

OpenAI plans to remove its AI models from Cursor, a tool programmers use to write code with the help of artificial intelligence. According to Engadget, Cursor will lose direct access to OpenAI's models on November 12, 2026. The reason is that Cursor has been acquired by SpaceXAI.

Future models are also off the table

OpenAI will not supply upcoming models to Cursor either. That includes the model Astra, which has not yet been released. OpenAI says it wants to protect Astra.

The rationale of contract breach and distillation is OpenAI's own claim. Distillation means using the responses of another company's AI model to train your own model.

Distillation in focus

OpenAI points out that Elon Musk acknowledged during a trial that his AI company xAI used output from OpenAI's models to train its own models. Musk's side of the case is only briefly reported, so his view of the accusations is not clearly stated.

The sources also disagree on details of Musk's earlier lawsuit against OpenAI. Engadget writes that Musk filed the suit in 2024, that a jury ruled against him in May 2026, and that the judge rejected his claims of breach of charitable purpose and unjust enrichment, while another source describes a $150 billion lawsuit in 2026.

What does it mean for users?

According to Cursor CEO and co-founder Michael Truell, about 5 percent of the tool's customers use OpenAI models (as Engadget reports). That makes it a small share of customers who will directly notice the change.

Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown has promised to increase compute support for Claude models in Cursor. Claude is Anthropic's own AI model, and the pledge could give users an alternative.

Cursor is still negotiating with OpenAI, so the outcome could change before November 12. The sources do not make clear whether users can continue to use their own OpenAI API key in Cursor.