Amazon’s Q Developer, an artificial intelligence coding assistant under the broader Q brand, is trailing rivals on revenue a year after launch, according to internal figures reviewed by Business Insider. The data indicates that projected annual recurring revenue remained modest compared with competitors, a result that has prompted Amazon to reassess how it positions and brands Q across its product lineup. Industry investor Jason Lemkin said Q Developer’s growth is ‘not as jaw-dropping as it used to be,’ adding that Amazon Web Services has fallen behind in the artificial intelligence race.
By contrast, competing coding tools have posted stronger early momentum. Anysphere’s Cursor surpassed a higher annual recurring revenue threshold within its first year, while Windsurf also reported multi-million run rates in under 12 months. Even younger artificial intelligence startups like Gamma and Higgsfield reached significant revenue milestones quickly, underscoring Q Developer’s comparatively slower trajectory. Amazon disputed the narrative of lagging performance. A spokesperson said the company is continuing to innovate rapidly, citing active users that include ADP, Deloitte, and Japan Research Institute, and noted that daily usage of Q Developer has increased ninefold per person this year.
Amazon is refining its Q branding strategy as it works to build recognition for the portfolio, which also includes Q Business, an enterprise chatbot that is undergoing a major revamp with the forthcoming Quick Suite, previously reported by Business Insider. Several employees told the publication that AWS lacks a strong reputation for artificial intelligence developer tools, and that generative artificial intelligence initially took the company by surprise, leading to a rush of products without comprehensive feature sets. Amazon called those claims inaccurate, saying Q Developer is the most widely used internal tool and continues to receive positive customer feedback.
Inside Amazon, many developers have pushed for access to external tools such as Cursor. Internal Slack messages reviewed by Business Insider showed plans to deploy Cursor after strong demand, with one employee saying it delivers ‘almost instantaneous’ changes while Q Developer can take minutes. CEO Andy Jassy has credited Q Developer with saving 4,500 developer years of work and significant annualized efficiency gains, but on a May earnings call he also highlighted Cursor’s role in the recent explosion of coding agents. With Gartner projecting that by 2028, 40 percent of new business software will be built with artificial intelligence coding tools, Amazon appears intent on sharpening Q’s strategy rather than ceding the category.
