JetBrains IDEs weren’t even wrappers when they already cost a decent amount of money annually. You pay not just for API access to providers but also for convenience and QoL features as well as Cursor-specific services like Tab autocomplete.
I can’t say how much they are profiting but it seems like they at least do profit now while in the past they were losing money to gather users. Trae, Kiro and others are heavily subsidized by the providers or even from their own pocket (well, their investors’ to be precise). They are in the phase Cursor was and they either die or become like Cursor making their pricing fair on them.
They are a different product. As long as they have something that sets them apart from competitors (their awesome Tab autocomplete for example) they won’t have to lower their prices as they will be at a different niche.
And if they lose this advantage (for example, if Kiro releases autocomplete that is on par with Cursor’s) – sure then, they will start losing clients fast and will have to change something to stay alive.
It’s a business. If you think they are ripping you off – you can choose a different product. If enough people will agree to you and do the same – they will adapt.
When you see them doubling down on their pricing changes – that means that you are in a minority and a lot of their clients are happily choosing to use their product instead of competitors’. It’s not because you’re wrong, it’s because you crave for a different solution with a different price while they are satisfied with current one.
We all have different use-cases. These products cater to different audiences.
And no, I’m not a PR person, they couldn’t even hire me if they want due to my country of origin lol. I’m just a long time user who is happy that they slowly shift away from the curse of “vibe-coding” and develop their product back to my liking.