The bankruptcy estate of FTX sold a 5% stake in AI coding startup Cursor for $200,000 in April 2023, a stake now worth approximately $3 billion following SpaceX's agreement to acquire the company at a $60 billion valuation. This development comes as SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, moves to expand its presence in AI coding tools. The deal allows SpaceX to acquire Cursor for $60 billion or pay $10 billion if the full acquisition does not proceed, pending its planned initial public offering targeting a $2 trillion valuation. The crypto aspect of the deal involves Alameda Research, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, which initially invested $200,000 in Anysphere, the company behind Cursor, for a 5% stake in 2022.
After FTX's collapse, the court-appointed estate sold the stake for the same $200,000, leading to a missed recovery opportunity of roughly $3 billion. This event has sparked debate, particularly from Bankman-Fried, who argues that the estate's rapid liquidation of assets destroyed significant value for creditors. The timing of this revelation is awkward for FTX's bankruptcy administration, as Bankman-Fried has been advocating for a reevaluation of the estate's asset liquidation strategy from prison, where he is serving a 25-year sentence.
The case of the Cursor stake, which has seen a 15,000x return, may feature prominently in future discussions about the handling of FTX's assets during its bankruptcy proceedings.