SpaceX strikes $60bn deal to acquire AI start-up Cursor

Elon Musk's SpaceX has struck a deal to acquire code-editing start-up Cursor for $60bn in a bid to catch up on rivals such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

SpaceX has an option to acquire Anysphere, Cursor's parent company, for $60bn this year. If SpaceX decides not to proceed, it would pay the company $10bn, the rocketmaker announced on Tuesday. That would in effect be among the largest termination fees in history.

The agreement comes as Musk tries to reel in AI rivals whose models have so far outstripped those produced by his xAI lab.

The billionaire founded xAI in 2023 to take on OpenAI and Anthropic, and has since merged the group with SpaceX, which is gearing up for a record-breaking IPO this summer.

SpaceX said it was looking to tap Cursor's "leading product and distribution to expert software engineers". Cursor, meanwhile, is seeking access to SpaceX's massive computing resource to develop its own coding tools.

"We're very excited about working with them and we think SpaceX is basically the best company in the world when it comes to building out compute. The feats they have been able to pull off are extraordinary," said Oskar Schulz, Anysphere's president.