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 worth approximately $3 billion following SpaceX's recent agreement to acquire the company at a $60 billion valuation. Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, has been working to close the gap with competitors in AI coding tools, and this acquisition is a significant step towards that goal.
The deal has brought attention to the crypto angle, as Alameda Research, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, had invested $200,000 in Anysphere, the company behind Cursor, in April 2022. After FTX's collapse, the court-appointed estate sold the stake for the same $200,000, resulting in a significant loss for creditors. This event has sparked debate, with Bankman-Fried arguing that the estate's quick liquidation of assets destroyed billions in value, and that customers could have benefited from holding onto these assets.
The timing of the SpaceX acquisition has awkwardly coincided with FTX's bankruptcy administration, and the issue is likely to be raised by Bankman-Fried's family in their campaign for a pardon.