The value of a 5% stake in AI coding startup Cursor, sold by FTX's bankruptcy estate for $200,000 in April 2023, has skyrocketed to approximately $3 billion following SpaceX's agreement to acquire the company at a $60 billion valuation. This massive increase in value has brought attention to the significant losses incurred by FTX's estate due to the sale of its assets during bankruptcy proceedings. The deal, led by Elon Musk, aims to bridge the gap with competitors in the AI coding tools sector.
The acquisition is part of SpaceX's strategic expansion, with the company delaying the purchase to focus on its planned initial public offering, which targets a $2 trillion valuation. The crypto community is abuzz with the news, particularly given the investment history of Alameda Research, the trading firm founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, which initially invested $200,000 in Anysphere, the company behind Cursor, in April 2022. The subsequent sale of the stake by FTX's estate has sparked debate about the timing and handling of the bankruptcy assets, with Bankman-Fried arguing that the estate's liquidation of assets too quickly destroyed billions in value. The Cursor stake's remarkable growth, representing a 15,000x return, has become a prime example of the potential value that could have been realized if the estate had held onto its assets.
As FTX customers have been repaid in dollar terms under the bankruptcy distribution plan, the focus now shifts to the upside that could have been achieved if the assets had been retained, with the Cursor stake alone accounting for approximately $3 billion in forgone recovery.