Elon Musk sells X platform to his xAI company
Elon Musk on Friday announced that his artificial intelligence company, xAI, has acquired social media platform X in an all-stock transaction.
The deal values X at $33 billion, further merging Musk’s AI ambitions with the vast reach of his digital town square.
“@xAI has acquired @X in an all-stock transaction. The combination values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45B less $12B debt). Since its founding two years ago, xAI has rapidly become one of the leading AI labs in the world, building models and data centers at unprecedented speed and scale,” he wrote in an X post.
“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution, and talent,” he added.
The acquisition comes amid growing AI competition, with Musk positioning xAI as a leader in “truth-seeking” artificial intelligence.
“Since its founding two years ago, xAI has rapidly become one of the leading AI labs in the world, building models and data centers at unprecedented speed and scale,” he said.
xAI, launched in 2023, introduced Grok, an AI chatbot integrated into X, offering real-time responses and engaging in online debates. Musk has marketed Grok as an alternative to what he calls “woke AI,” though the chatbot has at times contradicted his views.
Musk said that merging xAI’s cutting-edge AI capabilities with X’s 600 million+ user base would create “smarter, more meaningful experiences” while staying committed to advancing knowledge and truth.
“X is the digital town square where more than 600M active users go to find the real-time source of ground truth and, in the last two years, has been transformed into one of the most efficient companies in the world, positioning it to deliver scalable future growth,” his statement added.
The deal follows recent financial moves for both companies. X raised $1 billion in investment funding last year, valuing the platform at $44 billion, while xAI secured backing from BlackRock, Fidelity, Morgan Stanley, Sequoia Capital, Nvidia, and AMD, boosting its valuation to $45 billion in December. Reports suggest xAI may soon pursue another funding round at a $75 billion valuation.
“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent. This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach. The combined company will deliver smarter, more meaningful experiences to billions of people while staying true to our core mission of seeking truth and advancing knowledge. This will allow us to build a platform that doesn’t just reflect the world but actively accelerates human progress,” his statement said.
