SpaceX is working with Cursor and has an option to buy the startup for $60 billion
Source published ·Modelwire updated
Original coverage: TechCrunch — AI ↗·How Modelwire adds context
The development
SpaceX is negotiating to acquire Cursor, the AI-powered code editor, with a reported option price of $60 billion. The deal would represent one of the largest AI startup acquisitions and signals Elon Musk's push into developer tooling before Cursor's potential IPO.
Modelwire’s AI-generated summary of coverage from TechCrunch — AI.
Modelwire analysis
Analyst takeOur AI-generated reading of the wider context and the next developments to watch.
The option structure matters as much as the price: SpaceX holding a purchase option rather than closing outright suggests Cursor's leadership may be running a dual-track process, keeping the IPO path alive while extracting a valuation ceiling from a strategic buyer. The $60B figure also represents a $10B step-up from the $50B fundraise valuation reported just four days earlier.
This story lands almost immediately after TechCrunch reported Cursor in advanced talks to raise $2B+ at a $50B valuation with a16z and Thrive Capital expected to lead. That fundraise now looks less like a growth round and more like a price-discovery mechanism that handed Cursor negotiating leverage with SpaceX. Meanwhile, the broader developer tooling market is clearly attracting serious capital: Factory hit a $1.5B valuation the same week, and OpenAI expanded Codex's capabilities in mid-April, signaling that the competition for developer workflow ownership is intensifying across multiple fronts.
Watch whether a16z and Thrive formally close the $2B round in the next 30 days. If they do, it likely means Cursor rejected or deferred the SpaceX option, and the IPO track stays live. If the fundraise quietly stalls, the acquisition is probably advancing.
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MentionsSpaceX · Cursor · Elon Musk
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