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

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Y Combinator Startup Podcast

Y Combinator

281 episodes

6 days ago

We help founders make something people want. The Y Combinator Podcast is where builders talk about building. From the earliest days of an idea to scaling a company that changes the world, YC partners and founders share real stories, lessons, and tactics from the frontlines.

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

Y Combinator Startup Podcast

27 minutes 55 seconds

2 months ago

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

Michael Truell on June 17th, 2025 at AI Startup School in San Francisco.At 25, Michael Truell has already built Cursor into one of the fastest-growing companies in AI coding, hitting $100M ARR in just a year. In this fireside chat with YC General Partner Diana Hu, he shares the lessons that came from years of failed projects with his co-founders, why he believes programming is still essential even as AI changes how we code, and how Cursor is taking on GitHub Copilot with the conviction that all of software development will flow through models.