Elon Musk Woos Pakistanis with Rp 1.035 Trillion Deal
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has announced a partnership with Pakistan-based AI startup Cursor. The company is willing to allocate US$60 billion (Rp 1.035 trillion) as part of the agreement between the two entities.
Cursor, founded by Sualeh Asif, is a company that develops AI models for software engineering and knowledge-based tasks.
SpaceX explained that the partnership will combine Cursor’s AI products, focused on coding, with its own large-scale computing infrastructure. This includes a training system equivalent to one million Nvidia H100 chips, as cited from The News Pakistan on Wednesday (29/4/2026).
The Guardian reported that this partnership will strengthen the chatbot maker that recently joined SpaceX, xAI, which is considered somewhat behind its competitors. Cursor will also gain access to greater computing capacity to train its models.
For information, Asif, who founded Cursor, is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has also entered Forbes’ list of the richest people with an estimated net worth of US$1.3 billion.
The SpaceX and Cursor partnership could produce AI billionaires and unlock Pakistan’s talent potential, stated Bilal bin Saqib, chairman of the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA). He also described it as a proud moment for the country and proof that young people there can compete globally.
Asif, who hails from MIT, is also in the spotlight. According to him, that experience provides access to capital, computing power, and a supportive ecosystem.
This capability contrasts with the domestic situation. Bilal explained that Pakistan does not lack talent but supporting infrastructure.
Pakistan, he added, can achieve similar successes if it can implement the right policies and investments.
Asif was also praised by former Pakistani Minister of Information Technology Umar Saif. According to him, Asif plays the role of a role model needed by Pakistani youth, rather than becoming a broker, tax evader, or engaging in other crimes.
“However, a successful child from hard work from a middle-class family in Karachi. Studied at MIT, founded an influential company, changed the way people write code, and worth more than US$1 billion at the age of 26!” Saif said in his post on X.