In a stunning turn of events, 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 deal at a $60 billion valuation. This development has brought to light a massive missed recovery in crypto history. SpaceX's decision to acquire Cursor is part of Elon Musk's strategy to bridge the gap with competitors in the AI coding tools space. The deal has been structured to allow SpaceX to either purchase Cursor for $60 billion or pay a $10 billion breakup fee, pending the company's planned initial public offering.
The crypto connection lies in Alameda Research's initial $200,000 investment in Anysphere, the company behind Cursor, which translates to a roughly 5% stake. After FTX's collapse, the court-appointed estate sold the stake for the same amount, unaware of its potential for massive growth. This oversight has resulted in a significant loss for creditors, with the stake now being worth $3 billion, representing a 15,000x return. The timing of this revelation is particularly awkward for FTX's bankruptcy administration, as it supports Sam Bankman-Fried's argument that the estate's rapid liquidation of assets destroyed billions of dollars in value.
Bankman-Fried has been advocating for a different approach, suggesting that holding onto assets would have yielded better results for customers. The Cursor stake's trajectory, from its launch in 2023 to its current valuation, is one of the steepest in software startup history, and its value will likely be cited in Bankman-Fried's continued efforts to revisit his case.