GitHub Copilot, the AI-powered coding assistant developed by GitHub and owned by Microsoft, has now surpassed 20 million users, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during the company’s latest earnings call. A GitHub spokesperson later confirmed to TechCrunch that this figure reflects “all-time users” — meaning it includes everyone who has ever tried the tool. Reports Technology News
This milestone marks a significant jump from April, when GitHub Copilot had 15 million users. In just three months, five million more developers have given the tool a try. However, neither Microsoft nor GitHub have disclosed how many of those users are actively using Copilot on a daily or monthly basis — numbers that are likely much lower than the cumulative figure.
What is clear, though, is GitHub Copilot’s growing presence in the enterprise space. Microsoft noted that 90% of Fortune 100 companies now use Copilot, and enterprise adoption has surged by roughly 75% since last quarter.
As AI coding assistants continue to gain traction, GitHub Copilot stands out as one of the few AI tools already contributing meaningful revenue. Nadella previously stated that, by 2024, Copilot had become a larger business than GitHub itself was at the time of its acquisition in 2018 — a notable benchmark that underscores the tool’s momentum.
Despite its impressive growth, Copilot’s user base still pales in comparison to general-purpose AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini, which attract hundreds of millions of monthly users. But that’s expected — software development is a more specialized domain.
Still, developers and their employers appear willing to pay for AI tools that boost productivity. With Microsoft’s strong foothold in enterprise and GitHub’s vast developer community, GitHub Copilot is well-positioned to lead the enterprise AI coding space.
