Cursor (Anysphere)
Small (~50)
OpenAI
Large (~3,500)
Best For
Cursor (Anysphere)
Best for: Generalist engineers who want extreme ownership at the most-loved AI code editor
OpenAI
Best for: Engineers who want to build frontier AI models at the company defining the industry, with elite compensation
Ratings
Cursor (Anysphere)OpenAI
4.0
4.5
Overall
3.5
3.6
Work-Life Balance
4.0
4.6
Culture & Values
4.2
4.5
Comp & Benefits
3.8
4.3
Senior Mgmt
3.5
4.3
Career Opps
👍 85% Recommend
👤 90% CEO Approval (Michael Truell)
👍 90% Recommend
👤 95% CEO Approval (Sam Altman)
Culture Values
Cursor (Anysphere) only
🤝 Flat Hierarchy🧩 Wears Many Hats
OpenAI only
🌱 Learning & Growth💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Shared
🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate⚙️ Engineering-Driven🎯 Direct Product Impact
Pros & Cons
Cursor (Anysphere)
- Building the most-loved AI code editor — massive developer love and daily impact
- Tiny team, extreme ownership — every person shapes the product directly
- Extremely small team = no specialists; everyone does everything
- Intense pace — the speed of shipping can be relentless
OpenAI
- Cutting-edge frontier AI research with world-class colleagues
- Elite compensation — top-tier TC and equity packages
- High-intensity environment — long hours and intense pace are the norm
- Internal politics and rapid org changes as the company scales
Bottom Line
Cursor (Anysphere)
Choose Cursor if you want to shape the future of AI-assisted coding on a tiny team — but the pace is relentless.
OpenAI
High-intensity, mission-driven culture with world-class colleagues and top-tier comp — but expect long hours, rapid org changes, and internal politics as the company scales.
Open Roles
Cursor (Anysphere) — 77 jobs
💻 Engineering
33
💼 Sales / GTM
19
📊 Data
3
🧠 ML / AI
3
🎨 Design
2
👤 HR / People
2
⚖️ Legal
2
⚙️ Operations
2
📣 Marketing
1
OpenAI — 655 jobs
💻 Engineering
317
💼 Sales / GTM
57
📋 Product
30
📊 Data
28
🧠 ML / AI
28
📣 Marketing
24
⚙️ Operations
17
⚖️ Legal
13
🎨 Design
10
👤 HR / People
9
💰 Finance
7
🎧 Support
4
Summary
Cursor (Anysphere) scores 4.0/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.5 work-life balance rating. OpenAI scores 4.5/5.0 overall with a 3.6 WLB. That’s a 0.5-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Ship Fast & Iterate, Engineering-Driven, Direct Product Impact. Cursor (Anysphere) also emphasizes Flat Hierarchy, Wears Many Hats. OpenAI also emphasizes Learning & Growth, Strong Comp & Equity.
On the hiring front, Cursor (Anysphere) has 77 open roles and OpenAI has 655 open roles.