FTX missed a multi-million-dollar gain in a coding startup. | Credit: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
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Key Takeaways
Cursor’s parent company, Anysphere, reached a remarkable $9 billion valuation after securing a $900 million funding round.
Alameda Research invested $200,000 in Cursor, but FTX liquidators sold the stake for the same amount, now worth around $500 million.
Cursor has attracted major tech players, including Stripe, OpenAI, and Spotify, as well as influential AI figures.
Anysphere, the startup behind the AI-powered code editor Cursor, has skyrocketed to a $9 billion valuation, attracting major investors like Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz.
While its rapid growth has made waves, the real story lies in the missed opportunity of FTX’s liquidators. What started as a small investment in Cursor now represents a multi-million-dollar missed opportunity.
AI Coding Startup Cursor Hits $9 Billion Valuation
San Francisco-based Anysphere, the startup behind the AI-powered code editor Cursor, has secured a significant funding boost that, according to sources familiar with the matter, has raised its valuation to an estimated $9 billion.
The latest round, totaling $900 million, was led by Thrive Capital, an early investor in OpenAI, with additional backing from Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, and others.
Founded in 2022 by four MIT alumni in their twenties, Anysphere has quickly risen to prominence in the generative AI space. Just months ago, the company raised $105 million at a $2.5 billion valuation, making this new deal a remarkable tripling in value in a short period.
The dramatic leap in valuation is primarily attributed to explosive revenue growth. By April, Anysphere’s annual recurring revenue had soared to approximately $200 million, placing it among the fastest-scaling software startups on record.
FTX Liquidators Trashed Alameda’s Investment
Cursor’s $900 million funding round underscores a remarkable surge in confidence around AI development tools. But what’s making waves is the connection to Alameda Research and the now-collapsed crypto exchange FTX.
Alameda Research, the trading firm once controlled by FTX and led by Sam Bankman-Fried’s ex-partner Caroline Ellison, initially invested $200,000 in Cursor during its early stages.
Alameda invested $200,000 in Cursor in 2022, but FTX liquidators sold it for the same amount. | Credit: FTX
Following Bankman-Fried’s conviction and FTX’s fall into bankruptcy, liquidators decided to sell Alameda’s stake in Cursor for the same $200,000 the firm invested initially. In retrospect, that choice has cost them an estimated $500 million in unrealized value, given the current Cursor’s evaluation.
Cursor’s Famous Customers
Cursor has captured the attention of tech giants and developers with its AI-powered software development toolkit, writing nearly 1 billion lines of working code daily.
The tool accelerates productivity by enabling programmers to use natural language to direct the AI instead of writing code manually, which is especially valuable for highly sought-after coding skills.
Despite competing with tools like GitHub Copilot, Cursor counts tech powerhouses such as Stripe, OpenAI, and Spotify among its clients, along with notable AI researchers like Andrej Karpathy.
Karpathy, a former Tesla and OpenAI engineer, even coined the term “vibe coding” to describe the almost trance-like process of creating software with Cursor’s AI.
Giuseppe Ciccomascolo began his career as an investigative journalist in Italy, where he contributed to both local and national newspapers, focusing on various financial sectors.
Upon relocating to London, he worked as an analyst for Fitch's CapitalStructure and later as a Senior Reporter for Alliance News. In 2017, Giuseppe transitioned to covering cryptocurrency-related news, producing documentaries and articles on Bitcoin and other emerging digital currencies. He also played a pivotal role in establishing the academy for a cryptocurrency exchange website. Crypto remained his primary area of interest throughout his tenure as a writer for ThirdFloor.
