Elon Musk just pulled off his boldest corporate gambit yet. SpaceX is acquiring xAI, the billionaire's artificial intelligence startup, in a deal that sets the stage for what could be one of the largest IPOs in history. The combined entity is eyeing a $1.25 trillion valuation when it goes public, according to Bloomberg. The merger, completed February 2nd per Nevada state records obtained by CNBC, brings together a rocket company valued at $800 billion with an AI startup worth $230 billion, creating what SpaceX calls "the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth."
SpaceX just became an AI company, and the implications are staggering. Elon Musk's rocket maker announced Monday it's acquiring xAI, his two-year-old artificial intelligence startup, in a transaction that creates the most valuable private company ever assembled. The deal cleared on February 2nd, with Space Exploration Technologies Corp. now listed as the managing member of X.AI Holdings in Nevada state records obtained by CNBC.
The combined company is preparing to go public at a jaw-dropping $1.25 trillion valuation, Bloomberg reported. That's larger than Amazon's current market cap and would instantly make it one of the five most valuable public companies on Earth. SpaceX confirmed the acquisition in a blog post Monday, saying the merger brings together "AI, rockets, space-based internet" and its X social media platform into a single vertically-integrated powerhouse.
The math behind this deal is eye-popping. SpaceX opened a secondary share sale last year at an $800 billion valuation, while xAI closed a $20 billion funding round just weeks ago that valued the AI startup at roughly $230 billion, . Bringing them together under one roof creates instant synergies, at least on paper. SpaceX's Starlink satellite network, with more than 9,000 satellites in orbit and roughly 9 million customers, could provide the compute infrastructure xAI desperately needs to train its Grok AI models.
