A 5% stake in AI coding startup Cursor, sold by FTX's bankruptcy estate for $200,000 in April 2023, would now be valued at approximately $3 billion following SpaceX's acquisition agreement at a $60 billion valuation. This development comes as SpaceX plans to acquire Cursor later this year for $60 billion or pay $10 billion if the full acquisition does not proceed, driven by Elon Musk's aim to close the gap with competitors in AI coding tools. The deal is significant for the crypto space due to 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 $200,000 after FTX collapsed.
The substantial difference between the sale price and the current valuation underscores a missed recovery opportunity for the estate's creditors. This incident may fuel further debate about the handling of FTX's assets during its bankruptcy, particularly arguments that the estate destroyed billions in value by liquidating assets too quickly.