Musk merges xAI and X into $100+ billion empire

Elon Musk has announced a historic merger of his companies xAI and X, creating a technology giant worth over $100 billion. On Friday, the entrepreneur announced a deal in which his AI startup xAI, valued at $80 billion, is acquiring the social network X, which was valued at $33 billion.

“The future of xAI and X is inextricably linked,” Musk wrote in his post. “Today we are officially combining data, models, computing power, distribution channels, and talent.” According to him, the merger “will unlock enormous potential by connecting xAI’s advanced AI capabilities with X’s massive reach.”

The deal is being executed through a stock exchange, with X investors receiving payments in the form of xAI shares. The companies already have several common investors, including venture firms Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, as well as Fidelity Management, Vy Capital, and Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Co.

It’s worth noting that the purchase price was $45 billion minus $12 billion in debt. Linda Yaccarino, whom Musk hired as CEO of X, commented on the announcement with the words “The future couldn’t be brighter.”

xAI, founded less than two years ago with the stated goal of “understanding the true nature of the universe,” is already actively competing with OpenAI and other technology giants in the field of artificial intelligence. xAI’s chatbot Grok is already integrated into the X social network, and recently the company launched the Colossus supercomputer in Memphis for training its AI models.

Over the past year, xAI’s valuation has grown significantly – from $50 billion during the last funding round to the current $80 billion. For comparison, OpenAI recently attracted investments at a valuation of $260 billion, while Anthropic did so at a valuation of $61.5 billion.