In April 2023, FTX's bankruptcy estate sold a 5% stake in AI coding startup Cursor for $200,000, a fraction of its current value of approximately $3 billion, following SpaceX's acquisition agreement at a $60 billion valuation. Elon Musk's SpaceX plans to acquire Cursor later this year, with the option to pay $10 billion if the full acquisition does not proceed, as part of his efforts to close the gap with competitors in AI coding tools. The deal has brought attention to FTX's estate, which sold the stake after Alameda Research, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, invested $200,000 in the company in 2022. The significant difference between the sale price and the current value has sparked debate about the timing of the sale and the potential losses for FTX's creditors.
Bankman-Fried has argued that the estate's decision to liquidate assets too quickly destroyed billions in value, and the Cursor stake has become a prime example of the potential upside that was missed. The case has also drawn attention to the recovery of FTX customers, who received their claim values plus interest but missed out on the potential gains from the assets sold during the bankruptcy.