SpaceX agrees to acquire AI startup Cursor in $60B deal

SpaceX SPCX has formally agreed to acquire artificial intelligence coding startup Cursor in a transaction that values the company at $60 billion.

The acquisition advances Elon Musk's efforts to strengthen his position in one of the fastest-growing segments of the AI industry.

According to a company filing released Tuesday, Cursor investors will receive SpaceX stock based on the startup's implied $60 billion equity valuation.

The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2026.

The deal follows SpaceX's earlier disclosure in April that it had secured the right to acquire Cursor later this year, but delayed any transaction while preparing for its record-setting initial public offering.

Strengthening AI coding capabilities

The acquisition is expected to significantly expand SpaceX's artificial intelligence software capabilities at a time when competition in AI coding tools is intensifying.

SpaceX competes with companies including OpenAI and Anthropic in developing generative AI products for businesses and consumers.

Musk has previously acknowledged that xAI, SpaceX's artificial intelligence business following its February merger, trails some competitors in coding-focused AI products.

The acquisition of Cursor could help close that gap.

Cursor develops software tools designed to help programmers write, edit, and debug code more efficiently using artificial intelligence.

The company has become one of Silicon Valley's fastest-growing startups and emerged as a major beneficiary of the rapid adoption of AI-powered coding assistants.

The startup has been at the center of the industry's so-called "vibe coding" trend, in which developers increasingly rely on chatbot-style prompts to generate and modify software code.

Rapid growth attracted interest

SpaceX's interest in Cursor has been building for several months.

In April, the company disclosed that it had secured an option either to acquire the San Francisco-based startup for $60 billion or alternatively pay $10 billion to establish a strategic partnership.

Cursor's business has expanded rapidly since its founding in 2022.

According to company data previously reported in the media, the startup has reached approximately $2.6 billion in annualized business-to-business revenue, while enterprise sales have continued growing sharply.

Alongside OpenAI and Anthropic, Cursor has become one of the most prominent companies focused on using artificial intelligence to automate software development tasks, one of the earliest areas where AI businesses have generated substantial commercial demand.

The acquisition would also provide Cursor with access to significantly greater computing resources to develop future AI models.

Earlier this year, two product engineering leaders from Cursor joined SpaceX, citing opportunities to contribute to both the company's lunar exploration efforts and xAI initiatives.

SpaceX shares continue post-IPO surge

The acquisition announcement came as SpaceX shares continued their strong performance following the company's public market debut.

Shares rose more than 8% on Tuesday after surging roughly 20% during their first full trading session following the company's record-breaking IPO.

Investor enthusiasm has been fueled in part by Musk's ambitious long-term growth projections.

Posting on X over the weekend, Musk said SpaceX "might be able to reach approximately" $1 trillion in revenue by 2030.

Such a figure would represent a dramatic increase from the company's reported revenue of $18.7 billion in 2025.

Despite strong revenue growth, SpaceX reported a net loss of $4.9 billion in 2025 and posted a loss of $4.28 billion during the first quarter of 2026.