Overview
- SpaceX disclosed Tuesday that it exercised a preexisting option to buy Cursor for $60 billion and filed paperwork to begin the merger process.
- The companies struck a partnership in April that gave SpaceX the explicit right to buy Cursor or instead pay $10 billion for their joint work, and SpaceX used that contractual option to complete the purchase.
- When the merger closes in the third quarter of 2026, Cursor will remain a wholly owned subsidiary and existing Cursor shareholders will receive SpaceX stock in exchange for their shares.
- The acquisition follows SpaceX's record IPO that raised roughly $85 billion and a market valuation near $2.5 trillion, a financial position that analysts say helped enable the large purchase.
- Cursor, founded in 2022, has grown rapidly as an AI coding assistant used by software engineers and its CEO called the pending merger "a big risk, or a big bet," reflecting the deal's strategic and cultural stakes for employees.