"Cursor Is Dead" Is Total BS: Here Is Why | Miles Clements

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)
The Twenty Minute VC (20VC)Mar 9, 2026

Why It Matters

Investors and product buyers should view success in AI tooling as market-expanding, not purely redistributive; cursor’s agent-led usage growth and multimodel positioning suggest it can sustain growth despite vocal critiques. That dynamic affects valuations, competitive positioning, and where capital and talent flow in the AI developer tools market.

Summary

Miles Clements rejects the narrative that “Cursor is dead,” arguing that the coding-AI market is expanding rather than zero-sum and that cursor remains strong because coding tools combine fast time-to-value with durable productivity gains. He lays out a framework of time-to-value and durability to evaluate AI categories, praising coding as a battleground because it scores highly on both. Clements cites rapid adoption of cursor’s agent features—agent usage grew 15x last year and now drives a large share of merged PRs—and emphasizes cursor’s multimodel strategy as a competitive advantage. He also notes that much ARR growth reflects increased consumption and new user cohorts, not just share shifts between vendors.

Original Description

Miles Clements is a Partner @ Accel where he helps to lead their growth fund. At Accel, Miles has led or invested in Atlassian, Cursor, Linear, and more.
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In Today’s Episode with Miles Clements:
0:00 - Intro
0:59 - Where is True Alpha and Value in a World of AI
2:39 - Why it is Total BS that Cursor is Dead
7:03 - Why Cursor Were Not Wrong to Build Their Own Models
7:43 - What is the Upside When Investing in Cursor at $27BN?
14:11 - Do Sub $10BN Outcomes Even Matter to a Fund the Size of Accel?
16:04 - Losing ServiceTitan: Investing Lesson Learned…
19:55 - Missing Rippling: What We Learned
29:12 - What is Accel's Win Rate
31:59 - How VCs Approach Ownership Has Changed
37:21 - Does Miles Feel Happier or Sadder to be an Anthropic Investor Post Pentagon Debacle
39:33 - What Happens to Companies Like Miro and Snyk with High Prices to Live Up To?
41:01 - Why it is a Great Time to Be Thoma Bravo and Vista
41:39 - Why Founder-Led Companies Are Always Better
44:43 - Why Would Any Founder Go Public Today
47:14 - When is the Right Time to Take Chips Off The Table?
49:57 - Should VC Firms Have Evergreen Funds and Be Responsible for Public Positions
54:53 - You Can Pick Any VC to Join Accel, Who Does Miles Choose…
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#20vc #harrystebbings #milesclements #accel #vc #venturecapital #agenticai #ai #cursor

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