In a surprising 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 agreement. This development has brought attention to the significant losses incurred by FTX's estate due to the sale of assets at undervalued prices during the bankruptcy process. SpaceX's decision to acquire Cursor at a $60 billion valuation has thrown a spotlight on the vast disparity between the original sale price and the current worth of the stake, with the difference representing a staggering 15,000% return.
The transaction has also raised questions about the timing and handling of FTX's asset sales during its bankruptcy, with former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried arguing that the estate's liquidation of assets too quickly resulted in the destruction of billions of dollars in value. The Cursor stake's remarkable growth, from a $4 million valuation in 2022 to $60 billion today, is among the most rapid in software startup history, and its sale has become a prime example of the potential value that could have been realized if the assets had been held rather than sold.
As FTX customers have been repaid in full, the focus has shifted to the potential upside that could have been achieved if the estate had adopted a different approach to asset management during the bankruptcy process.