SpaceX surpassed Microsoft to become the fourth-largest company in the United States by market capitalisation on Tuesday, 16 June, as its shares climbed roughly 8% during early trading, lifting its market value to approximately $2.74 trillion. The milestone arrived alongside a landmark announcement: an all-stock acquisition of AI coding platform Cursor, valued at $60 billion.

The Market Surge

The latest gain placed SpaceX ahead of Microsoft and extended its lead over Amazon, which was valued at around $2.65 trillion at the same time. The rally extends a remarkable run that began with the company's record-breaking stock market debut the previous Friday, when shares soared 20% on their first full trading day. The post-IPO performance has drawn comparisons to some of the most closely watched market debuts in recent memory.

The Cursor Acquisition

Elon Musk's aerospace and technology company announced the all-stock deal to acquire Cursor, a fast-growing artificial intelligence coding assistant that competes directly with products such as Claude Code and Codex. According to the company, Cursor is already used by 64% of Fortune 500 companies, underscoring its grip on the enterprise software market. SpaceX had disclosed in April that it had secured rights to acquire the platform, making Tuesday's announcement a formal confirmation of a deal months in the making.

SpaceX's AI Investment Push

The acquisition fits a broader pattern of aggressive artificial intelligence spending by SpaceX. The company reportedly spent approximately $12.7 billion on AI-related initiatives in 2025 and a further $7.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026 alone. The Cursor deal ranks as one of the largest AI transactions the company has undertaken to date, and is expected to expand its capabilities across software development and automation.

Why Investor Confidence Remains High

Investor enthusiasm has been driven not only by SpaceX's core space and satellite businesses but also by its increasingly ambitious pivot into artificial intelligence. The company's growing enterprise software footprint — now anchored by Cursor's Fortune 500 penetration — signals a strategic shift beyond rockets and satellite internet. This comes amid a broader AI investment wave sweeping US technology markets, with valuations for AI-adjacent companies continuing to command significant premiums.

What Comes Next

The Cursor acquisition is expected to strengthen SpaceX's position in the competitive AI race, though the all-stock structure means the deal's final valuation will track the company's own share price. Analysts will be watching whether the integration of an enterprise software platform into an aerospace-first organisation can deliver the synergies the deal implies. With its market cap now in $2.74 trillion territory, SpaceX sits just behind the top three US companies by valuation — a position that would have seemed improbable even a year ago.