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 deal at a $60 billion valuation. This significant increase in value has brought attention to the crypto aspect of the deal, as Alameda Research, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, initially invested $200,000 in Anysphere, the company behind Cursor, in April 2022. The investment represented a 5% stake in the company at a $4 million valuation. After FTX's collapse, the court-appointed estate sold the Cursor stake for the same $200,000, resulting in a missed opportunity for creditors.
The timing of the sale has been criticized, particularly by Bankman-Fried, who argues that the estate's rapid liquidation of assets destroyed billions in value. The Cursor stake's valuation increase represents a 15,000x return, highlighting the potential upside that FTX customers missed out on. While customers have been repaid in dollar terms, they did not receive the upside from the assets' increased value, including the $3 billion represented by the Cursor stake.