Elon Musk intercepted Anthropic's key client: a strategic breakdown of the $60 billion Cursor acquisition
The artificial intelligence market is undergoing a tectonic shift. Elon Musk acquired Anysphere — the developer of the popular AI coding tool Cursor — for $60 billion. The payment was made exclusively in SpaceX stock, and the deal was closed in just days before Anthropic's IPO. This is not just an acquisition, but a subtle strategic move that could radically change the balance of power ahead of one of the most anticipated IPOs in the sector.
Why Cursor Was So Important to Anthropic
Cursor operated on Anthropic's Claude model. Every engineer using the platform was, in essence, a paying customer of Anthropic, without even realizing it. The tool became so popular in Silicon Valley and among Fortune 500 teams that its flagship feature, Composer, powered by Claude Sonnet, spawned an entire term — "vibe coding."
Anthropic's corporate revenue in 2025 skyrocketed largely thanks to Cursor. Every user of this tool was a hidden source of revenue for Anthropic. Cursor became one of the largest external monetization channels for Claude across the entire internet.
The Mechanics of the Deal: How Musk "Printed" $60 Billion
The most notable aspect is how the payment was made. Not a single dollar in cash. All $60 billion was paid in SpaceX stock. The deal was structured through a regulatory 8-K filing, and Musk exercised an option signed back in April.
SpaceX went public on June 12 at $135 per share. By Tuesday, shares were trading above $211. Musk used several days of stock market frenzy to "print" $60 billion in fresh capital in the form of shares and immediately directed them toward the pre-agreed purchase. SpaceX investors faced dilution of approximately 3.4% — their stake decreased due to the issuance of new shares. The IPO essentially became a money-printing machine for this acquisition.
The Connection to Anthropic's IPO: Coincidence or Planned Attack?
Data from Ramp shows that Cursor's share among corporate clients was declining: from 41% in June 2025 to 26% in May 2026, losing ground to GitHub Copilot and Amazon Q. Investors Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive, and Nvidia were preparing to invest in Cursor at a $50 billion valuation, considering it aggressive. Musk paid 20% more — for a company that, according to analysts, is losing ground in the race.
Musk went through with the deal because his own AI division, xAI, was facing serious difficulties. For SpaceX to have a compelling AI story before going public, the easiest path was to buy a brand that engineers already trust. xAI's problems are confirmed: by the end of March 2026, all 11 of its co-founders had left the company, and Musk himself admitted that xAI was "built wrong from the start."
A clear chain emerges: first, SpaceX goes public, gaining "currency" — expensive shares. Then, Musk uses them to buy Cursor, which was losing its leadership position, and at a premium. And Cursor was the largest corporate channel through which companies paid for Claude. The deal landed precisely in the gap between Anthropic's IPO filing and the setting of the offering price.
It is important to understand: interpreting all this as a planned attack on Anthropic's IPO is a personal assessment, not an established fact. Sources confirm the events themselves, but not the intention to specifically harm Anthropic.
My conclusion: Much now depends on Anthropic's next move. If the company cannot quickly convince Wall Street that the lost revenue from Cursor can be replaced, then one of the most anticipated AI IPOs this year could be at risk. Musk played ahead of the curve, and now the ball is in Anthropic's court.