SpaceX acquires xAI in record-setting deal as Musk looks to unify AI and space ambitions

Elon Musk said on Monday that SpaceX has acquired his artificial intelligence startup xAI in a record-setting deal that unifies Musk's AI and space ambitions by combining the rocket-and-satellite company with the maker of the Grok chatbot.

The deal, first reported by Reuters last week, represents one of the most ambitious tie-ups in the technology sector yet, combining a space-and-defense contractor with a fast-growing AI developer whose costs are largely driven by chips, data centers and energy. It could also bolster SpaceX’s data-center ambitions as Musk competes with rivals like Alphabet's Google, Meta, Amazon-backed Anthropic and OpenAI in the AI sector.

The transaction values SpaceX at $1 trillion, and xAI at $250 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Investors in xAI will receive 0.1433 shares of SpaceX for every share of xAI as part of the acquisition, this person said. Some xAI executives may also opt for cash instead of SpaceX stock at $75.46 per share, the person said.

"This marks not just the next chapter, but the next book in SpaceX and xAI's mission: scaling to make a sentient sun to understand the Universe and extend the light of consciousness to the stars!" Musk said.

Deal breaks record held by Vodaphone for world's top M&A

The purchase of xAI sets a new record for the world's largest M&A deal, a distinction held for more than 25 years when Vodafone bought Germany’s Mannesmann in a hostile takeover valued at $203 billion in 2000, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The combined company of SpaceX and xAI is expected to price shares at about $527 each, another person familiar with the matter said. SpaceX was already the world's most valuable privately held company, last valued at $800 billion in a recent insider share sale. XAI was last valued at $230 billion in November, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The merger comes as the space company plans a blockbuster public offering this year that could value it at over $1.5 trillion, two people familiar with the matter said.

SpaceX, xAI and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The deal further consolidates Musk's far-flung business empire and fortunes into a tighter, mutually reinforcing ecosystem—what some investors and analysts informally call the "Muskonomy"—which already includes Tesla, brain-chip maker Neuralink and tunnel firm the Boring Company.

"Starlink was already a cash flow engine and now it adds an AI revenue layer on top while also becoming a distribution surface for AI services and data," said Ali Javaheri, PitchBook senior emerging spaces analyst.

"With policy changes that allow certain customer data to be used for model training and the prospect of orbital data centers, SpaceX is positioning itself as an integrated infrastructure platform that can serve commercial and government use cases, which is a much stronger narrative heading into a public offering."

Deal could draw regulatory scrutiny

The world's richest man has a history of merging his ventures together. Musk folded social media platform X into xAI through a share swap last year, giving the AI startup access to the platform’s data and distribution. In 2016, he used Tesla's stock to buy his solar-energy company SolarCity.

The agreement could draw scrutiny from regulators and investors over governance, valuation and conflicts of interest given Musk's overlapping leadership roles across multiple firms, as well as the potential movement of engineers, proprietary technology and contracts between entities.

SpaceX also holds billions of dollars in federal contracts with NASA, the Department of Defense and intelligence agencies, which all have some authority to review M&A transactions for national security and other risks. — Reuters