SpaceX finalizes acquisition of Cursor, officially signs a $60 billion stock swap deal, expected to complete the transfer in Q3

Elon Musk has officially cashed in: SpaceX has signed a binding merger agreement with Cursor (parent company Anysphere), an AI programming startup, and will acquire it via a stock-for-stock exchange, with an implied equity value of $60 billion.
(Recap: SpaceX gets Cursor acquisition option: $60 billion to buy the AI development powerhouse, or a $10 billion breakup fee)
(Background: Major news! SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI values it at $1.25 trillion—Musk is building a “Space + AI” giant to prepare for an IPO.)

Key takeaways

• On 6/16, SpaceX officially signed a binding merger agreement to acquire AI programming startup Cursor via a stock-for-stock exchange, with an implied equity value of $60 billion.
• The consideration will be paid in SpaceX Class A common stock, and the exchange ratio will be based on the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) for the 7 days prior to closing; the deal is expected to be completed in Q3 2026, pending regulatory approval.
• This fulfills the April acquisition option, abandoning the $10 billion breakup fee route; Cursor’s users cover 67% of Fortune 500 companies.

On June 16, SpaceX signed a binding merger agreement to acquire AI programming tool Cursor (parent company Anysphere) via a stock-for-stock exchange, with an implied equity value of $60 billion. The April option of “a $60 billion acquisition, or a $10 billion breakup fee” has now been settled for good.

From option to formal signing

Roll back to April. SpaceX obtained, via an SEC 8-K filing, the right to acquire Cursor for $60 billion by year-end. The deal was structured such that if it ultimately didn’t go through, SpaceX would have to pay a $10 billion breakup fee. The market treated it like a gamble, and even prediction market Polymarket opened betting on the probability of the transaction closing. Now the answer is out: after the biggest IPO in history (with a $1.75 trillion valuation) wrapped up on June 12, SpaceX immediately upgraded the option to a formal merger agreement on June 16.

This is a pure stock-for-stock transaction. The consideration will be paid in SpaceX’s Class A common stock, and the exchange ratio will be calculated based on the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of the 7 trading days prior to closing—not cash. The transaction is expected to complete in Q3 2026, but it still needs to clear routine hurdles such as regulatory approval. The contract is already locked in—what’s left is the final closing procedures.

What Musk wants isn’t an editor—it’s compute matching

Why does SpaceX have to acquire Cursor? The answer is compute. Cursor’s Composer large model, paired with SpaceX’s Colossus supercomputer for large-scale training, is effectively connecting “the model that writes code best” with “the biggest training facility.”

Cursor also has users covering 67% of Fortune 500 enterprises. It is a B2B software company that is on track to reach $2 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) faster than any other, and it is forecast to surpass $6 billion by the end of this year. It was founded in 2022 by four MIT dropout students. The current CEO, Michael Truell, is only 25 years old, and the company’s net worth is already $1.3 billion.

This also continues Musk’s consolidation play this year. In February, SpaceX folded in xAI, which it itself founded, with a valuation of $1.25 trillion. xAI was renamed “SpaceXAI” and folded into its AI business, during which two senior Cursor engineers were also poached. Cursor is just one remaining piece of the “Space + AI” puzzle.

Frequently asked questions

Has SpaceX already completed the acquisition of Cursor?

Not yet. The transaction has not officially closed. The merger agreement signed on 6/16 is binding and provides for SpaceX to acquire Cursor via a stock-for-stock exchange with an implied equity value of $60 billion. The deal is expected to close in Q3 2026, subject to customary conditions such as regulatory approval. Only then would the acquisition be considered officially completed.

How will this $60 billion transaction be paid?

It’s a pure stock-for-stock deal, not cash. SpaceX will pay with its own Class A common stock, with the exchange ratio based on the VWAP of the 7 trading days prior to closing. This is also why the transaction was structured to be executed only after SpaceX’s IPO—you need publicly traded shares as the consideration.