The bankruptcy estate of FTX sold a 5% stake in AI coding startup Cursor for $200,000 in April 2023, a stake that would now be worth approximately $3 billion following SpaceX's agreement to acquire the company at a $60 billion valuation. This development has brought attention to the significant losses incurred by FTX's estate due to the forced sale of assets during the bankruptcy process. SpaceX's acquisition of Cursor is part of Elon Musk's strategy to enhance his company's position in the AI coding tools market, an area where he believes his company, xAI, is currently lagging behind competitors.
The deal is contingent on SpaceX's planned initial public offering, which is targeting a $2 trillion valuation. Meanwhile, the FTX estate's sale of the Cursor stake has become a focal point in the debate over the handling of the company's assets during the bankruptcy process, with former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried arguing that the estate's decisions destroyed billions of dollars in value for creditors. The timing of the SpaceX-Cursor deal has also raised questions about the FTX estate's approach to asset liquidation, with some arguing that a more patient approach could have yielded significantly better returns for creditors.