BoxGroup Turns $750,000 Cursor Bet Into $1 Billion as SpaceX Buys Startup for $60 Billion
Updated
Updated · Fortune · Aug 26
BoxGroup Turns $750,000 Cursor Bet Into $1 Billion as SpaceX Buys Startup for $60 Billion
1 articles · Updated · Fortune · Aug 26
Summary
$750,000 invested by BoxGroup in Cursor in June 2022 is set to yield about $1 billion after SpaceX acquired the AI coding startup for $60 billion.
The windfall came from BoxGroup backing founder Michael Truell before Cursor found its eventual focus, with partner Claire Smilow pushing the firm to invest based on the team rather than the original AI-for-CAD idea.
That return could exceed all limited-partner capital BoxGroup has ever raised, underscoring a strategy that favors many small early checks over ownership battles and board seats.
BoxGroup typically spreads each fund across 120 to 150 startups versus roughly 30 for a traditional venture fund, a model David Tisch says is built around getting into the right company early.
The Cursor exit, described as the largest VC-backed acquisition on record, gives rare validation to BoxGroup's restrained, collaborative approach in a venture market dominated by ever-larger funds.