AI coding assistant GitHub Copilot now has over 20M users
What's the story
GitHub Copilot, the artificial intelligence (AI) coding assistant developed by Microsoft-owned GitHub in partnership with OpenAI, has crossed a major milestone of over 20 million users. The announcement was made by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during the company's earnings call. A GitHub spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that this number is for "all-time users."
Rapid growth
A look at user growth
The latest figures indicate that GitHub Copilot's user base has grown by five million in just three months. The last time Microsoft and GitHub shared numbers, back in April, the tool had reached a total of 15 million users. However, it's worth noting that the companies don't disclose how many of these users are active on a daily or monthly basis.
Business impact
Tool now used by 90% of Fortune 100 companies
GitHub Copilot is now used by 90% of Fortune 100 companies, Microsoft has said. The tool's adoption among enterprise customers has also grown by about 75% compared to the last quarter. This growth comes as AI coding tools are becoming increasingly popular, and proving to be one of the few AI products that generate significant revenue.
Market dominance
GitHub Copilot now a bigger business than GitHub
In 2024, Nadella had said that GitHub Copilot was a bigger business than all of GitHub when Microsoft acquired it in 2018. The trend seems to have continued positively over the past year. Despite having a much smaller user base than AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini, software engineers and their employers are willing to pay a premium for AI coding tools like GitHub Copilot.
Competition
Cursor is closing in on GitHub Copilot
Cursor, which is another popular AI coding tool, is looking to take on GitHub Copilot in the enterprise space. The company has been hiring talent from budding AI start-ups and had over a million daily users in March, generating around $200 million in annualized recurring revenue (ARR). Today, Cursor's ARR is over $500 million, indicating a significant increase in its user base.