SpaceX locks in US$60 billion Cursor deal to close gap with rivals in AI coding race
SpaceX agreed to acquire Cursor’s parent company, Anysphere, for $60 billion in an all-stock deal to strengthen its AI coding capabilities and compete with rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic. The transaction, expected to close in Q3 2026, follows SpaceX’s recent $2 trillion valuation surge and aims to leverage Cursor’s developer-focused AI tools, including Grok Build, while addressing computing power limitations.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has finalized a $60 billion all-stock acquisition of Anysphere, the startup behind the AI coding agent Cursor, to bolster its enterprise AI tools market presence. The deal, announced on Tuesday, follows SpaceX’s Nasdaq debut last week, which saw its valuation soar to over $2 trillion. Cursor, backed by investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Nvidia, has rapidly scaled with $2.6 billion in annualized B2B revenue, though its growth was previously hindered by limited computing resources. The acquisition strengthens xAI, SpaceX’s AI division acquired in February, by integrating Cursor’s coding models into its Grok platform. SpaceX plans to release an AI model on Cursor and Grok Build, jointly trained for months, to capitalize on enterprise demand for AI-driven coding tools. The company had previously eyed Cursor in April, offering either a $60 billion buyout or a $10 billion partnership. SpaceX’s high valuation minimizes dilution, allowing it to acquire Cursor with a relatively small equity stake, according to analysts. The deal includes termination fees of $10 billion if collapsed under specific conditions or $4 billion for antitrust failures. Closing is set for Q3 2026, with SpaceX’s shares jumping 10% post-announcement, adding $247 billion to its market cap. Cursor’s rapid growth and developer focus make it a key rival to Anthropic and OpenAI, though its lack of computing scale was a limiting factor. SpaceX’s IPO filing highlighted Cursor’s developer data as critical for improving AI models like Grok. The acquisition aligns with SpaceX’s $28.5 trillion addressable market projection, with AI enterprise tools as a major revenue driver. The deal does not affect SpaceX’s recent cloud computing agreements with Anthropic and Google, worth $26 billion annually, which include 90-day termination clauses. Experts suggest SpaceX may retain external capacity if Grok and Cursor usage grows sufficiently. The transaction underscores SpaceX’s aggressive push into AI, leveraging its financial strength to compete in a crowded enterprise market.
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