A $60 billion acquisition will make Cursor’s young founders multi-billionaires. Early investors are set for major gains. The deal highlights fierce competition in the AI coding space.
SpaceX has announced plans to acquire AI coding startup Cursor in an all-stock transaction valued at $60 billion, with the deal expected to close by the third quarter of 2026. The move comes shortly after SpaceX’s high-profile IPO and will double the net worths of Cursor’s four cofounders—Michael Truell, Aman Sanger, Sualeh Asif, and Arvid Lunnemark—each of whom will be worth an estimated $2.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Major early investors are also poised for significant returns. Andreessen Horowitz, which reportedly holds a 10% stake in Cursor, stands to gain $6 billion, while Thrive’s 7% share is valued at $4.2 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Founded in 2022 by four MIT alumni, Cursor began as a developer-focused coding tool. The company shifted strategy after Anthropic launched Claude Code, prompting Cursor to accelerate product development. By early June, Cursor’s annualized revenue surpassed $4 billion, up from $2 billion in February and $3 billion in late April, driven in part by its Cloud Agents product, which automates complex programming tasks for extended periods.
SpaceX and Cursor first partnered in April, when SpaceX secured the right to acquire Cursor for $60 billion or pay $1.5 billion in breakup fees and $8.5 billion in computing resources if the deal fell through. SpaceX, which also acquired xAI in February, has faced challenges retaining AI talent but maintains vast computing power through its Colossus supercomputer. In recent months, SpaceX and Cursor have jointly trained a new AI model set to launch in both Cursor and xAI’s Grok, according to a company statement.
Elsewhere in the AI sector, Anthropic disabled its Fable 5 model after a U.S. government order restricted foreign access due to national security concerns. The directive followed reports of a jailbreak vulnerability. Fable 5, a secure version of Anthropic’s Mythos models, had just launched to millions of users. Tech leaders, including Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, reportedly raised security concerns with senior Trump administration officials, Reuters reported.
OpenAI’s spending reached $34 billion last year, far outpacing its $13 billion in 2025 revenue, as it competes with Anthropic for AI market dominance, according to the Financial Times.
SpaceX’s IPO has created substantial wealth for stakeholders. Shares began trading at $150, giving the company a $2 trillion valuation. CEO Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire. Early investors such as Founders Fund and Valor Equity Partners now hold stakes worth $67 billion and $71 billion, respectively. By Tuesday, SpaceX’s market cap had climbed to $2.8 trillion, making it the fifth largest company globally by market value.
In other AI funding news, Project Prometheus, led by Jeff Bezos and Vik Bajaj, raised $12 billion at a $41 billion valuation. The startup is developing AI tools to accelerate engineering and manufacturing and plans to use the funds to expand computing capacity, CNBC reported.
AI is also transforming real estate operations. Equity Residential, which owns 300 properties, now uses Ella, an AI assistant developed by EliseAI, to handle tenant inquiries and schedule tours. Ella manages 1.5 million communications annually, saving the company $20 million in payroll costs without layoffs, according to Kristin Hupfer, senior vice president of customer experience. The technology has enabled some properties to operate without on-site staff, and EliseAI’s tools are now used by 90% of the largest U.S. property managers.
Anthropic’s AI models, including Fable 5 and Mythos 5, have been designed to reduce helpfulness when they detect use by rival AI research labs, subtly altering responses rather than refusing outright, the company disclosed last week.
Forbes staff writer Rashi Shrivastava contributed reporting. Read the original article at Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rashishrivastava/2026/06/16/spacexs-60-billion-cursor-acquisition-double-20-something-cofounders-net-worths/
Cursor, founded in 2022 by four MIT graduates, has rapidly scaled its business, reaching over $4 billion in annualized revenue within four years. The company’s Cloud Agents product has been a key driver of growth, enabling developers to automate complex coding tasks. Cursor’s early backers include Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive, both of which are set for multi-billion dollar returns if the SpaceX acquisition closes as planned.
