Elon Musk’s AI ambitions may have just found their developer toolchain.
Just days after becoming one of the world’s most valuable public companies, SpaceX has locked in a deal to buy AI coding startup Cursor for $60 billion in stock, marking one of the biggest acquisitions in the artificial intelligence industry.
The company confirmed on Tuesday that Cursor’s parent company, Anysphere, will become a wholly owned subsidiary once the transaction closes. Regulatory filings indicate that SpaceX expects the acquisition to be completed in the third quarter of 2026.
The move follows an arrangement announced in April that gave SpaceX the option to either acquire Cursor for $60 billion or pay $10 billion to continue working closely with the company. Cursor shareholders will be paid entirely with SpaceX stock.
Why SpaceX wants Cursor
The acquisition is the clearest sign yet that Musk is betting heavily on AI coding tools as SpaceX tries to narrow the gap with rivals OpenAI and Anthropic.
Cursor has become one of the fastest-growing names in AI-assisted programming. Its software helps developers generate, edit, and review code, and its popularity has helped fuel the rise of so-called “vibe coding,” a style of software development in which programmers increasingly rely on AI to write large portions of code.
The startup competes directly with products such as Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex. At the same time, it has historically relied on partnerships with larger AI companies for the underlying models that power some of its features.
SpaceX believes Cursor brings more than just technology. The company has previously pointed to the startup’s strong adoption among professional developers as a major attraction, giving SpaceX access to a large community of software engineers and enterprise customers.
Cursor’s rapid rise
Founded in 2022 as Anysphere, Cursor has grown rapidly as companies rush to adopt AI-powered coding assistants.
The startup was reportedly exploring a fundraising round that would have valued it at around $50 billion before the SpaceX deal emerged. Earlier funding rounds had already pushed its valuation close to $30 billion.
Cursor’s tools are used by developers across a range of industries, and the company has attracted backing from prominent investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital, Nvidia, and Google.
The company has also expanded quickly in revenue. Reuters reported that Cursor was generating roughly $2.6 billion in annualized business-to-business revenue, while CNBC previously reported that the company crossed $1 billion in annualized revenue in late 2025.
IPO momentum
The acquisition arrives at a moment of enormous momentum for SpaceX.
The company debuted on the Nasdaq last week in the biggest initial public offering ever. The listing valued SpaceX at more than $2 trillion and sent shares higher in the days that followed.
Reuters reported that the stock was up nearly 10% in premarket trading on Tuesday. The surge has given Musk’s company a powerful currency for acquisitions as it pours money into artificial intelligence.
SpaceX merged with xAI earlier this year, bringing Musk’s AI ambitions under the same corporate roof as his rocket and satellite businesses. The company has told investors that AI could represent a massive future opportunity, with enterprise applications and AI infrastructure expected to drive the bulk of its long-term growth.
Also read: Elon Musk’s net worth reportedly topped $1 trillion after SpaceX’s Nasdaq debut, raising questions about valuation, AI revenue, and future IPOs.
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