SpaceX Moves to Buy Cursor in $60 Billion Stock Deal

SpaceX agreed to buy Cursor in a $60 billion stock deal, and the cursor deal arrived just days after SpaceX's historic IPO. The purchase folds an AI coding startup into Elon Musk's company as it tries to catch up with larger AI labs.

Elon Musk and xAI

The company tied the acquisition to its AI division, which is built around Elon Musk's AI company xAI. SpaceX merged with xAI earlier this year, and SpaceX said its AI push has been in restructuring after repeated controversies, including allowing users to generate non-consensual deepfakes of women and children.

Cursor's $50 billion round

Cursor had been on track to close a $2 billion funding round at a $50 billion valuation before SpaceX came knocking. Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive, and Nvidia were among the firms expected to participate, which would have given the startup fresh capital without handing control to SpaceX.

Third quarter for the deal

SpaceX said Tuesday that the acquisition is likely to close in the third quarter of this year. In April, Musk's company said it would either buy Cursor for $60 billion in stock or pay a $10 billion break-up fee if the deal fell through, so the current plan follows through on a threat already put on the table.

The open question now is whether the acquisition closes on that third-quarter timetable and how SpaceX directs Cursor inside a division that is still being reorganized after its AI controversies.