Archive · 1 Sep 2026
Why Elon Musk Wanted Cursor in SpaceX’s $60 Billion Deal
Aman Sanger and three friends started a company called Anysphere after meeting at MIT.
They wanted to make computer programming easier with artificial intelligence.
Their product, Cursor, lets people describe coding tasks in ordinary language.
The AI can then help create, change, or fix larger parts of a program.
Many companies began using Cursor, which made Anysphere very valuable.
SpaceX had already been working with Anysphere before discussing a purchase.
In 2026, SpaceX chose to buy the company for $60 billion instead of taking a smaller partnership option.
Sanger and his co-founders each reportedly owned about 4.5% of Anysphere.
Their shares could be worth about $2.7 billion each, although the final value depends on the deal and SpaceX stock.
Aman Sanger and three MIT co-founders established Anysphere in 2022.
Their AI coding platform, Cursor, brought natural-language tools directly into software development.
Cursor is reportedly used by tens of thousands of teams and 64% of Fortune 500 companies.
Anysphere raised $2.3 billion at an approximate valuation of $29.3 billion.
SpaceX chose to acquire Cursor for $60 billion, making Anysphere a wholly owned subsidiary.
- Who
- SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, agreed to acquire Anysphere, founded by Aman Sanger, Michael Truell, Sualeh Asif and Arvid Lunnemark.
- What
- SpaceX agreed to acquire Anysphere, the company behind AI coding platform Cursor, in a deal valued at $60 billion.
- When
- Anysphere was founded in 2022; SpaceX and Anysphere announced acquisition and partnership options in April 2026.
- Where
- The founders met and developed the company at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the deal involves SpaceX and Anysphere.
- Why
- Cursor’s adoption, specialized AI coding technology and potential use alongside Grok attracted SpaceX as part of Elon Musk’s broader AI ambitions.
- Founded
- Anysphere was established in 2022.
- Founders
- Aman Sanger, Michael Truell, Sualeh Asif and Arvid Lunnemark.
- Acquirer
- SpaceX.
- Deal value
- $60 billion in implied equity value.
- Alternative arrangement
- SpaceX had the option of pursuing a $10 billion partnership instead.
- Earlier valuation
- Anysphere raised $2.3 billion at an approximate $29.3 billion valuation.
- Founders’ reported stakes
- Each co-founder reportedly held roughly 4.5%, worth approximately $2.7 billion at the $60 billion valuation.