Michael Truell: Building Cursor at 23, Taking on GitHub Copilot, and Advice to Engineering Students

Michael Truell discusses the origin story of Cursor, starting from his early interest in programming and AI, driven by a desire to create mobile games and later, a robot dog. He recounts early projects, including a viral app for spoofing game high scores and building robots with reinforcement learning. Truell explains the founding of AnySphere, the initial focus on mechanical engineering with a copilot for CAD systems, and the subsequent pivot to AI coding tools, leading to the creation of Cursor. He shares insights into the challenges and lessons learned, such as the importance of focusing on core strengths and iterating based on user feedback, which ultimately drove Cursor's growth from zero to a significant revenue milestone. The conversation also explores Truell's views on the future of coding, the skills that will remain relevant, and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.