GitHub Copilot Hits Over 20 Million Users Since Launch

GitHub Copilot, an AI coding assistant by Microsoft-owned GitHub, has exceeded 20 million users, as revealed by CEO Satya Nadella during the latest earnings call. A spokesperson from GitHub clarified to TechCrunch that this count reflects “all-time users.”

This indicates that five million users have interacted with GitHub Copilot in the last three months; the tool reached 15 million users by April. Microsoft and GitHub have not disclosed the number of active users on a monthly or daily basis, although it is likely significantly lower.

Microsoft also noted that GitHub Copilot, now a prominent AI coding tool, is used by 90% of the Fortune 100 companies. Furthermore, the product’s adoption among enterprise clients has surged by about 75% since the previous quarter, according to company statements.

AI coding tools are increasingly gaining popularity and seem to be among the few AI products that are generating substantial revenue. In 2024, Nadella mentioned that GitHub Copilot had become a larger business than GitHub itself at the time of Microsoft’s acquisition in 2018. Over the past year, the growth trajectory of GitHub Copilot has remained robust.

However, the leading AI coding tools still have far smaller user bases in comparison to AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini, which attract hundreds of millions of users monthly. It’s crucial to recognize that software engineering is a more specialized domain than the broad informational queries handled by AI chatbots.

Nonetheless, software developers and their organizations seem eager to invest in AI coding tools. With Microsoft’s vast array of enterprise clients and GitHub’s network of developers, GitHub Copilot is exceptionally positioned to lead in the enterprise AI coding market.

Cursor, another prominent AI coding tool, is preparing to compete with GitHub Copilot in the enterprise sector and has been recruiting talent from emerging AI startups. As reported by Bloomberg, Cursor had over a million daily users in March and has since increased its annual recurring revenue from approximately $200 million to over $500 million, indicating considerable growth in daily users.

While GitHub Copilot and Cursor initially targeted different facets of the developer experience, they are increasingly becoming similar in their offerings.

Recently, both companies have introduced AI agents aimed at reviewing code and identifying errors introduced by humans. GitHub and Cursor are also developing AI agents to enhance programmers’ workflows, allowing developers to fully delegate tasks. During the earnings call, Nadella highlighted GitHub’s significant momentum with its AI coding agents.

In addition to Cursor, GitHub is contending with various well-funded rivals striving to deliver AI coding tools to enterprise clients.

These include Google, which has hired top talent from the AI coding startup Windsurf, as well as Cognition, the creators of Devin, who also absorbed the remainder of the Windsurf team. Additionally, OpenAI and Anthropic are both advancing their own AI coding solutions powered by proprietary models, Codex and Claude Code, respectively, in their quest to capture market share.

This emerging sector is rapidly becoming one of the most competitive arenas in AI.