SpaceX has agreed to acquire AI coding startup Cursor in a $60 billion stock deal. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of this year and marks the culmination of talks that began in April.
In April, SpaceX first proposed a structured arrangement that gave Cursor two options. The startup could either proceed with a $60 billion stock acquisition or face a $10 billion break-up fee if the deal did not go through. That proposal came ahead of SpaceX’s IPO and signaled early intent to bring Cursor into its AI ecosystem.
At the same time, Cursor was in discussions for a separate $2 billion funding round led by investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital, and Nvidia. That round would have valued the company at close to $50 billion. That reflected strong demand for AI coding platforms even as acquisition talks progressed.
Cursor, founded in 2022 under the name Anysphere, has grown rapidly alongside the rising demand for AI-assisted software development. The company gained early recognition after joining the OpenAI startup accelerator in 2024 and went on to raise several large funding rounds that pushed its valuation into the tens of billions.
The startup’s growing profile also attracted attention from SpaceX and its AI unit. xAI, led by Elon Musk, reportedly hired key engineering talent from Cursor and later worked with the company through infrastructure arrangements, including data center capacity support. These connections helped move discussions from partnership-style engagement toward a full acquisition.
The deal arrives at a time when SpaceX is expanding its artificial intelligence strategy through its integration with xAI. The AI division has undergone internal restructuring and leadership changes in recent months while facing scrutiny over issues tied to its chatbot systems.
Following its recent IPO, SpaceX has gained additional financial flexibility, allowing it to pursue large stock-based acquisitions. The company has increasingly positioned AI as a central part of its long-term growth strategy, particularly in enterprise software and infrastructure systems.
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