Following SpaceX's decision to acquire Cursor at a $60 billion valuation, it has been revealed that a 5% stake in the company, previously owned by FTX's bankruptcy estate, would now be worth approximately $3 billion. This stake was sold in April 2023 for $200,000, representing a substantial loss in potential recovery for the estate's creditors.
The initial investment was made by Alameda Research, a trading firm founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, in April 2022, with the company valued at $4 million at the time. The significant increase in value can be attributed to the successful launch of Cursor's AI coding product in early 2023, resulting in one of the steepest growth trajectories in software startup history.
This development is likely to be cited by Sam Bankman-Fried, currently serving a 25-year federal sentence, as an example of the value destroyed by the estate's liquidation of assets during the bankruptcy process. The FTX estate's decision to sell the stake has resulted in a missed recovery of roughly $3 billion, highlighting the potential consequences of forced selling during the bankruptcy.