The value of a 5% stake in AI coding startup Cursor, sold by FTX's estate for $200,000 in April 2023, would now be approximately $3 billion following SpaceX's agreement to acquire the company at a $60 billion valuation. This development comes as SpaceX plans to either purchase Cursor for $60 billion later this year or pay $10 billion if the acquisition does not proceed, primarily driven by Elon Musk's efforts to enhance xAI's competitiveness in AI coding tools. The deal has brought attention to the crypto aspect, where Alameda Research 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 missed recovery opportunity for creditors.
This event supports the argument made by Sam Bankman-Fried, currently serving a 25-year federal sentence, that the estate's rapid asset liquidation destroyed billions in value, and that a more patient approach could have made customers more than whole. The Cursor stake's worth, now valued at $3 billion, represents a substantial forgone recovery, highlighting the potential consequences of the estate's asset sale decisions.