From MIT to $60 billion deal: Meet Aman Sanger, Cursor’s Indian-origin co-founder

New DelhiJun 18, 2026 04:24 PM IST Aman Sanger, the Indian-origin co-founder of Cursor, is in the spotlight following SpaceX’s proposed $60 billion acquisition of the AI coding startup. (Express Image: Cursor/LinkedIn)Elon Musk’s SpaceX has agreed to acquire Anysphere, the startup behind the artificial intelligence (AI)-powered coding assistant Cursor, in a deal valued at $60 billion, drawing attention to Aman Sanger, one of the company’s co-founders and a rising name in the AI industry. The proposed acquisition is among the largest transactions involving an AI software company and reflects growing interest in tools that use AI to assist software developers.Cursor, which was founded in 2022, has emerged as one of the fastest-growing startups in the AI-assisted coding space, attracting millions of users. Sanger co-founded the company along with Michael Truell, Sualeh Asif, and Arvid Lunnemark while they were students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Indian roots and early years Sanger, 25, was raised in New York. His father, Arvind Sanger, is an IIT Bombay alumnus and founder of investment firm Geosphere Capital, while his mother, Shilpa Sanger, is an orthodontist, entrepreneur and angel investor. According to reports, Sanger developed an interest in programming at a young age and began coding as a teenager. His academic journey eventually took him to MIT, where he studied Computer Science and met the future co-founders of Cursor. Before launching the startup, Sanger also gained experience through internships at major organisations, including Google and Bridgewater Associates. A Forbes report suggests he was involved in AI-related projects even before founding Cursor. Building Cursor The founders launched their company, Anysphere, in 2022 with the aim of building practical AI tools. Initially, they developed products related to computer-aided design, but later shifted their focus to software engineering after recognising a larger opportunity in developer tools.Story continues below this ad That pivot led to the creation of Cursor, an AI-powered code editor designed to help developers write, edit and understand software more efficiently. Unlike traditional coding assistants that mainly provide autocomplete suggestions, Cursor can analyse larger codebases, answer questions about software projects and generate code based on user prompts. The platform has become popular among individual developers as well as enterprise customers looking to improve productivity. Rapid growth As demand for AI-powered developer tools increased, Cursor experienced rapid growth. The company attracted funding from prominent investors and reached multibillion-dollar valuations through successive funding rounds. The proposed SpaceX acquisition values Cursor at $60 billion, underscoring the increasing strategic importance of AI coding tools as businesses seek to integrate AI into their software development workflows.Story continues below this ad Why the deal matters The transaction highlights how AI-powered developer platforms have become a key battleground in the technology industry. It also places Aman Sanger among a growing group of Indian-origin entrepreneurs making their mark in the global AI ecosystem. For Sanger, the deal marks a significant milestone in a journey that began with learning to code as a teenager and led to the creation of one of the industry’s most closely watched AI startups. (This article has been curated by Shivani P Menon, who is an intern with The Indian Express)