About $30 *BILLION* of proceeds 💵...
and >1,000x returns for the earliest investors 📈.
Let's break down the winners and losers of the Cursor Acquisition by SpaceX 👇:
*1) We have to start with the only loser:* Alameda, or rather the nutcases who sold its stake for 1.0x.
They handed over a >1,000x return to the buyers of that stake, less than 3.5 years later. A gloriously stupid move. I would love to know if anyone managing that estate still has a job?
*2) The largest winners in $ terms: a16z and Thrive:* The three consecutive rounds which they led / participated in (Series A / B / C) created ~$14bn of proceeds. A job well done.
The lesson here: when venture growth works, nothing else truly compare in the sheer $ returns in generates. Put a lot of $'s in, get a mega amount of $ out.
*3) Early investors: hitting a total home run:* NEO (Ali Partovi), OpenAI Startup Fund, and many angels (Nat Friedman, Patrick Collison, Jeff Dean, BoxGroup, Arash Ferdowsi and many more...) are sitting on hundreds of times their money.
While I'm sure it was not on Elon's bingo cards to wire a few billions to OpenAI, this is an angel's wet dream come true for the individual investors involved.
NEO & Ali Partovi at >1,000x notably on a decent check is likely pocketing ~$1.5bn in the transaction.
*4) Nearly ~$30bn of total proceeds to investors, a blended 8x+ return on ~$3.3bn invested* The magnitude of this exit dwarfs many large tech IPOs. For Funds involved, LPs, and early angels, this is a transformational outcome - and it will have positive repercussions on the whole ecosystem.
Congrats to
@martin_casado,
@JoshuaKushner,
@apartovi and all involved. This is what venture is all about!