SpaceX strikes $60 billion deal for the right to buy AI coding startup Cursor
SpaceX (SPAX.PVT) on Tuesday announced that it had struck a deal with AI coding tool maker Cursor, which gives SpaceX the option to purchase the startup later this year for $60 billion.
“SpaceXAI and @cursor_ai are now working closely together to create the world’s best coding and knowledge work AI,” the post said.
“The combination of Cursor’s leading product and distribution to expert software engineers with SpaceX’s million H100 equivalent Colossus training supercomputer will allow us to build the world’s most useful models,” the post said. “Cursor has also given SpaceX the right to acquire Cursor later this year for $60 billion or pay $10 billion for our work together.”
The deal is part of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s plan to transform the rocket company into an AI behemoth ahead of its upcoming IPO. Musk merged SpaceX with his xAI startup in February.
The SpaceX-Cursor tie-up also shows how AI startups continue to find larger partners in order to secure the compute needed to continue improving their models.
Earlier this week, for instance, Amazon (AMZN) announced a $5 billion investment in Anthropic that will give the AI startup broader access to its trainium chips.
The SpaceX IPO, targeted for June, is aiming for a $1.75 billion to $1.8 trillion valuation, potentially making it the largest in history.
Notes:
Platform Dependency: Cursor is a fork (modified version) of VS Code, which is owned and controlled by Microsoft.
Infrastructure & Investment: Cursor relies on AI models, and with Microsoft owning a significant stake (up to 49% of profits) in OpenAI, Microsoft benefits from the increased API usage generated by Cursor.
Microsoft does not own Cursor outright but controls the underlying technology (VS Code) and holds a major stake in its AI provider (OpenAI).
More Notes:
Yes, xAI’s Grok AI models are deeply integrated into tools and platforms developed by Microsoft. As of 2025-2026, Grok and Microsoft have collaborated to host Grok models within Microsoft’s enterprise ecosystem.
Key Microsoft tools and platforms used by/with Grok include:
• Azure AI Foundry: Grok 3, Grok 3 Mini, and Grok 4.0/4.1 are available in Microsoft’s Azure AI Foundry (formerly Azure AI Studio) for developers, featuring managed access, enterprise-grade safety, and integration with Azure’s infrastructure.
• Microsoft Copilot Studio: Grok 4.1 Fast is available within Microsoft Copilot Studio, allowing users to build low-code, specialized copilots.
• Azure AI Content Safety: Microsoft’s safety service is applied to Grok’s models within the Azure environment to detect and filter content.
• Microsoft 365 (Upcoming): Elon Musk announced that Grok plugins are planned for Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
• Microsoft Teams: Grok integrates with Microsoft Teams through automation tools like Albato to enable AI-powered workflows, such as content generation and data analysis.
Despite tensions, Microsoft’s Azure AI Foundry acts as a neutral hosting platform, providing Microsoft-managed infrastructure for xAI’s models.
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