In a move that redefines 'keeping your options open,' SpaceX has announced a novel arrangement to either acquire the AI coding platform Cursor for $60 billion or, if it gets cold feet, simply pay a $10 billion fee for their collaborative efforts. This potential acquisition, first reported by The New York Times and confirmed via tweet, is part of the pre-IPO maneuvering for Elon Musk's sprawling corporate empire, which he values at a cool $1.25 trillion.
Buying Cursor, a startup reportedly in the process of raising $2 billion at a $50 billion valuation, could give Musk's xAI a boost in the race against AI coding rivals like Anthropic. The competition is heating up, with reports that Sergey Brin has a Google 'strike team' on the case and Sam Altman previously declared a 'code red' at OpenAI.
The official line is that combining Cursor's product with SpaceX's 'Colossus' supercomputer, boasting a million H100 equivalents, will build 'the world's most useful models.' The unofficial line is that a $10 billion breakup fee is being spun as payment 'for our work together,' which is certainly one way to frame what is essentially the world's most expensive consulting retainer.