Elon Muskโ€™s SpaceX to buy AI coding firm in bn deal as valuation rockets after IPO


Elon Muskโ€™s SpaceX has agreed a colossal $60 billion (ยฃ44.7 billion) deal to acquire AI coding agent Cursor, further boosting its soaring valuation following a recent stock market debut.

The acquisition news provided a fresh impetus to SpaceX shares, which have been on an upward trajectory since their initial public offering (IPO) on Friday.

The agreement will see Mr Musk’s aerospace and technology enterprise absorb Anysphere, the San Francisco-based firm responsible for the innovative coding platform.

This substantial price reflects Cursor’s current stock valuation. SpaceX had previously confirmed in April that it was collaborating with Cursor on AI model training and held an option to purchase the company.

Cursor works by using AI technology to automate parts of the process of writing code and support software development.

SpaceX said in April that it had started working with Cursor to jointly train an AI model, and that it had been given the right to acquire the firm
SpaceX said in April that it had started working with Cursor to jointly train an AI model, and that it had been given the right to acquire the firm (AFP/Getty)

The formal agreement of the takeover comes days after SpaceXโ€™s IPO on the Nasdaq index in New York.

The record-breaking IPO valued the company at two trillion US dollars (ยฃ1.49 trillion) on the first day of trading.

It made Tesla and X owner Mr Musk โ€“ already a billionaire โ€“ the worldโ€™s first paper trillionaire and cemented his position as the richest man on the planet.

SpaceX shares have been rising since and are currently trading at more than 210 dollars per share โ€“ up from the 150 dollar opening price on Friday.

Its market capitalisation surpassed 2.8 trillion US dollars (ยฃ2.09 trillion) on Tuesday afternoon, overtaking Amazonโ€™s 2.67 trillion (ยฃ1.99 trillion).

The company said in its IPO prospectus that the biggest potential market was the sale of business-oriented AI products, an ambition which is set to be helped by the Cursor acquisition.

On Friday, Mr Musk said in a speech from Starbase, Texas, that the record-breaking IPO was โ€œhard to believeโ€.

He added: โ€œIf people had told me this was going to happen, I was like, โ€˜man, you must be smoking some really good crack, because I think this company is going to failโ€™.โ€

The entrepreneur promised to take humanity โ€œto Mars and ultimately beyondโ€ at the stockโ€™s launch event.

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