Elon Musk announced on Monday (February 2nd) that he is merging his space exploration technology company, SpaceX, with the artificial intelligence startup company xAI to form one company in preparation for xAI’s upcoming large-scale initial public offering (IPO) scheduled for this summer.
SpaceX, Musk’s rocket company, revealed on Monday that it has acquired xAI to help the world’s richest man establish a dominant position in both the rocket and artificial intelligence sectors.
Public records in Nevada show that the transaction was completed on February 2nd.
This deal marks the largest integration in Musk’s vast business empire, bringing together two companies that have seen soaring valuations in the private market. SpaceX conducted a secondary market stock sale last year, valuing the company at $800 billion, while xAI, following a $20 billion financing round earlier this year, was valued at around $230 billion.
This latest transaction will also consolidate the operations of several companies under Musk’s control, including the artificial intelligence chatbot Grok, the satellite communication company Starlink, and the social media company X Platform (formerly Twitter).
In a press release posted on SpaceX’s website on Monday, Musk wrote, “SpaceX has acquired xAI to create the most ambitious vertical integration innovation engine on Earth (and off-Earth), covering artificial intelligence, rockets, space-based internet, direct device-to-device communication, as well as a global top-tier real-time information and free speech platform.”
Last year, Musk merged xAI with the social media platform X Platform in a deal valuing the artificial intelligence company at $800 billion and the social media company at $330 billion. The merger of xAI with SpaceX comes as the company gears up for a listing later this year.
Tesla, Musk’s electric car manufacturer, serves as the primary source of his liquid assets, and the company announced last week that it will also invest approximately $20 billion in xAI.
The tech titan appears to be fully committed to establishing artificial intelligence data centers in space.
In a post on the X Platform on Monday, he wrote, “I estimate that within two to three years, the most cost-effective way to perform artificial intelligence calculations will be in space.”