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 agreement to acquire the company at a $60 billion valuation. This deal has brought attention to the significant gap between the initial sale price and the current worth of the stake, with the latter representing a substantial 15,000x return. The acquisition is part of Elon Musk's strategy to enhance SpaceX's AI capabilities, particularly in the area of AI coding tools, where the company currently lags behind competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic. The transaction is contingent upon SpaceX's planned initial public offering, which aims to achieve a $2 trillion valuation.
Meanwhile, the sale of the Cursor stake has sparked controversy, with Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX, arguing from prison that the estate's decision to liquidate assets too quickly has resulted in the destruction of billions of dollars in value. The case of the Cursor stake serves as 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 reimbursed in full, the focus now shifts to the untapped potential of the assets sold during the bankruptcy process, with the Cursor stake being a notable example of a missed opportunity worth approximately $3 billion.