Andreessen Horowitz just had the kind of week that venture capitalists daydream about during partner meetings. Within a five-day stretch in August 2026, two of the firm’s AI infrastructure portfolio companies were acquired in blockbuster deals, leaving a16z sitting on combined stakes worth more than $8 billion.
The one-two punch came from SpaceX’s acquisition of Cursor, the AI-powered code editor built by Anysphere, for an estimated $60 billion in an all-stock deal, and Stripe’s purchase of OpenRouter for roughly $7 to $8 billion.
The Cursor windfall
SpaceX acquired Cursor for $60 billion, paying entirely in stock. That’s a staggering number for a company that was valued at just $400 million during its $60 million Series A round in 2024.
As the largest external stakeholder with approximately 10% ownership, a16z’s slice of that deal comes out to roughly $6 billion. The firm participated in Cursor’s Series A at a $400 million valuation. Two years later, the exit valuation was 150 times that number.
OpenRouter’s quieter, still massive exit
Stripe acquired the AI model routing platform for approximately $7 to $8 billion, and a16z’s early $20 million investment in the company has grown to over $1 billion at the acquisition price.
That’s a 50x-plus return on a single check.
OpenRouter built its business as a kind of switchboard for AI models, allowing developers to route requests to different large language models depending on cost, speed, and capability.
A16z invested in OpenRouter’s Series B at a $1.3 billion valuation. The exit at roughly $7 to $8 billion means the company’s value grew five to six times between that round and Stripe’s offer.