Elon Musk’s $60 billion acquisition of Cursor has put the AI coding startup and its co-founder Aman Sanger in the spotlight, with the deal also drawing attention in India because of Sanger’s family roots. Aman Sanger, who was born in the US to Indian immigrant parents, co-founded Cursor in 2022 after studying computer science at MIT. The AI coding company grew rapidly before being acquired by Musk’s SpaceX, with its founders reportedly receiving billions of dollars in SpaceX shares. The deal has also added another layer to Musk’s rivalry with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman who recently called off its partnership with Cursor.For the 26-year-old Sanger, however, the story goes beyond the Musk-Altman feud, with his Indian family background adding an unexpected connection to the blockbuster AI deal.
Who is Aman Sanger
Born in the US to Indian immigrant parents, Aman Sanger grew up in a household where academic achievement and business success were strongly encouraged. His father, Arvind Sanger, graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay with a B. Tech degree in 1984 before moving to US. He later earned an MBA from Tulane University and built a successful career on Wall Street. His mother, Shilpa became an angel investor through the investment network Golden Seeds. She also took on a business management role at Geosphere Capital.Aman Sanger started coding at the age of 14 and developed an early interest in technology. After enrolling at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he studied computer science between 2018 and 2022.Sanger cofounded Cursor, the maker of a popular AI code editing tool, with three friends from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2022. Before starting his own company, Sanger gained experience through internships at Google and Bridgewater Associates. He also launched an AI consultancy before joining fellow MIT students Michael Truell, Sualeh Asif and Arvid Lunnemark to create Cursor in 2022.According to Forbes latest estimate, Aman Sanger has a net worth of over $2.5 billion.
SpaceX acquire Cursor
Last month, the company was acquired by SpaceX for $60 billion. Forbes estimates that each Cursor cofounder received shares of the rocket maker worth $2.4 billion at the deal’s closing.Before the SpaceX acquisition, Cursor claimed to have more than $1 billion in annualized revenue, making it one of the fastest growing AI startups. Today, millions of software developers at enterprises like Nvidia, Adobe, Uber, Shopify and PayPal use Cursor to generate and edit chunks of code.
OpenAI ends relationship with Cursor
Last week, OpenAI pulled its models out of Cursor, with a proposed shutoff date of November 12, 2026. There is no dispute here about pricing, performance or usage limits. The stated reason is Elon Musk, and OpenAI put that in writing in a public blog post rather than letting it leak out through a support page.OpenAI claims that X, formerly Twitter and now folded into SpaceX, broke the terms of its contract after Musk took over the platform. It also points to sworn testimony this year in which Musk acknowledged that xAI, likewise now part of SpaceX, had violated OpenAI’s terms of service. OpenAI added that its forthcoming model, Astra, raises the accountability bar further, which is why it would rather end the arrangement than extend it to a partner it does not trust. It says it gave the maximum notice its contract allows so developers get time to plan.
