SpaceX Secures Option to Purchase AI Coding Startup Cursor for $60B
In a landmark deal announced Tuesday, SpaceX has secured the right to acquire AI coding startup Cursor for $60 billion later this year. This marks one of the most significant moves in the AI development tools market. The arrangement also provides SpaceX with an alternative option to pay $10 billion for joint development work, should it decide against the full acquisition.
The partnership brings together Cursor’s popular AI coding platform—which has achieved $1 billion in annual recurring revenue—and SpaceX’s Colossus supercomputer network, equivalent to one million Nvidia H100 GPUs. “The combination of Cursor’s leading product and distribution to expert software engineers with SpaceX’s million H100 equivalent Colossus training supercomputer will allow us to build the world’s most useful models,” SpaceX announced.
As Elon Musk transforms SpaceX into an AI powerhouse ahead of its planned IPO this summer, the deal with Cursor comes into focus. Notably, Cursor was finalizing a $2 billion funding round at a $50 billion valuation before the SpaceX announcement. The startup, created by San Francisco-based Anysphere, competes directly with Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot, Anthropic’s Claude Code, and OpenAI’s Codex in the rapidly expanding AI coding assistant market.
It’s worth noting that Microsoft had reportedly considered acquiring Cursor before the SpaceX deal came to fruition. The acquisition option period extends through the end of 2026, with the $10 billion payment contributing towards the purchase price if SpaceX exercises its option.
Source: CNBC