xAI has requested its staff, through an inner directive, to restrict contact with staff of AI coding assistant Cursor as a lot as doable. The directive, despatched by Common Counsel James Burnham, states that interactions with Cursor workers could also be restricted solely to the implementation of a beforehand introduced technical collaboration.
Bloomberg has discovered this. The directive was circulated internally final week and was made public through nameless sources conversant in the matter. The information comes weeks after it was reported that xAI is contemplating a possible acquisition of Cursor.
Burnham said within the communication that contact with Cursor workers should not transcend what is important for the implementation of the technical collaboration the 2 firms introduced final month.
The 2 firms introduced a partnership final month within the area of AI-driven software program improvement. That partnership now serves because the official framework to which xAI staff are sure. Contact with Cursor staff might solely happen to the extent that it serves the implementation of that partnership, in line with Burnham.
Background: acquisition not but last
Earlier this yr, SpaceX formally acquired xAI in a deal that valued SpaceX at roughly $1 trillion and xAI at $250 billion. Subsequently, the combined company entered into an agreement with Cursor below which SpaceX can select later this yr between a full acquisition for about $60 billion or a fee of $10 billion for joint AI improvement.
Cursor was based in 2022 and now has annual income exceeding $1 billion. Regardless of the deal, Cursor is attempting to maintain some distance from xAI, as The Info beforehand reported. A definitive acquisition has subsequently not but been finalized.