Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced on Wednesday’s earnings call that GitHub Copilot has surpassed 20 million all-time users. This AI coding tool, owned by Microsoft’s GitHub, marks a significant milestone in the adoption of AI in software development.
A GitHub spokesperson clarified to TechCrunch that the 20 million figure represents the total number of people who have ever used GitHub Copilot. This indicates that in the past three months, five million new users have tried the tool for the first time, as the company reported 15 million users in April. The current metrics on monthly or daily active users remain undisclosed by Microsoft and GitHub, but are presumed to be significantly lower than the total all-time user count.
GitHub Copilot’s prevalence extends to the enterprise level, with Microsoft reporting that it is used by 90% of the Fortune 100 companies. Furthermore, the tool’s growth among enterprise customers has increased by approximately 75% compared to the previous quarter, indicating a rapid expansion in its adoption by large organizations.
AI coding tools like GitHub Copilot are gaining traction within the software development landscape and stand out as some of the few AI products generating significant revenue. Nadella stated that in 2024, GitHub Copilot had already surpassed the overall size of GitHub itself at the time of its acquisition by Microsoft in 2018. This underscores the substantial growth and economic impact of AI-assisted coding.
While GitHub Copilot’s user base continues to grow, it is important to note that it remains smaller than that of general-purpose AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini, which boast hundreds of millions of users monthly. This disparity reflects the more specialized nature of software engineering compared to the broad informational queries addressed by AI chatbots.
Software engineers and their employers are showing a willingness to invest in AI coding tools, which is demonstrated by the increasing popularity of these services. GitHub Copilot is positioned to dominate the enterprise AI coding tool market, leveraging Microsoft’s established enterprise customer base and GitHub’s extensive developer ecosystem.
Cursor, another AI coding tool, is also seeking to challenge GitHub Copilot’s dominance, particularly within the enterprise space. Bloomberg reported that in March, Cursor had over one million daily active users and generated approximately $200 million in annualized recurring revenue (ARR). Currently, Cursor’s ARR exceeds $500 million, pointing to substantial growth in its user base and revenue streams.
Initially, GitHub Copilot and Cursor addressed different facets of the developer experience. Now, they are converging towards offering similar product features. Both companies have recently released AI agents designed to review code and identify bugs introduced by human developers. This reflects the growing importance of automated code review and quality assurance in software development workflows.
GitHub and Cursor are also focused on developing AI agents capable of automating programmer workflows, thereby enabling developers to delegate tasks to AI assistants. Satya Nadella noted that GitHub is experiencing significant momentum with its AI coding agents, signaling a growing trend towards AI-driven automation in software development.
In addition to Cursor, GitHub faces competition from other well-funded companies that are entering the AI coding tool market. Google acquired the leaders of AI coding startup Windsurf, and Cognition, the creator of Devin, subsequently acquired the remaining members of the Windsurf team. OpenAI and Anthropic are building their own AI coding tools based on their AI models, Codex and Claude Code, respectively. These developments indicate an intensifying competition in the AI coding market.
