In April 2023, FTX's bankruptcy estate sold a 5% stake in AI coding startup Cursor for $200,000, a valuation that has skyrocketed to approximately $3 billion following SpaceX's agreement to acquire the company at a $60 billion valuation. This deal, led by Elon Musk, aims to enhance SpaceX's AI coding capabilities and close the gap with competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic. The acquisition is contingent on SpaceX's planned initial public offering, which targets a $2 trillion valuation, with a $10 billion breakup fee serving as a safeguard. The crypto aspect of this deal is rooted in Alameda Research's $200,000 investment in Anysphere, the company behind Cursor, in April 2022.
This investment, which bought roughly 5% of the company at a $4 million valuation, was sold by the FTX estate for the same amount a year later, following the collapse of FTX and Alameda. The significant disparity between the sale price and the current valuation has sparked debate, particularly given the timing and the arguments presented by Sam Bankman-Fried, who claims that the estate's liquidation of assets too quickly during the bankruptcy destroyed billions in value. The trajectory of Cursor, which launched its AI coding product in early 2023, is among the steepest in software startup history, with its valuation rising dramatically over the past three years. While FTX customers have been reimbursed in full, the missed opportunity for additional recovery, exemplified by the Cursor stake, underscores the complexities and challenges of navigating asset valuation and recovery in the context of bankruptcy and rapidly evolving technologies.