Elon Musk Announces That xAI Has Acquired X

Elon Musk announced on Friday that his AI startup, xAI, has acquired his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in an all-stock transaction.

“xAI has acquired X in an all-stock transaction,” Musk stated, adding that the deal values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45 billion minus $12 billion in debt).

Musk described the future of both companies as “intertwined,” stating, “Today, we officially take the step to integrate data, models, computing power, distribution, and talent.”

With this acquisition, X—the influential social media platform Musk purchased in 2022—now falls under the ownership of xAI, the AI company he established in 2023 to rival OpenAI. Although xAI’s products, such as its AI chatbot Grok, were already deeply integrated into X, this merger further solidifies the connection between two of Musk’s most prominent ventures.

Reports from The Wall Street Journal and other publications indicate that shares of X and xAI will be converted into shares of a newly formed holding company, xAI Holdings Corp. According to the WSJ, executives from both companies viewed the merger as a way to simplify fundraising efforts.

Musk Acknowledges X’s Valuation Drop to $33B Amid Debt

Musk—who also leads Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink—noted in his post that the deal values X at $33 billion, down from its previous $45 billion valuation due to $12 billion in debt. He originally acquired X for $44 billion in October 2022 and took it private, but the platform’s valuation has fluctuated significantly. At one point, Fidelity estimated X’s worth at under $10 billion.

Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration—following Musk’s active support during the campaign and his current role as a special adviser leading DOGE—X’s valuation has climbed. Investors see the platform as increasingly influential, and Musk stated on Friday that X now has over 600 million active users.

Musk founded xAI in 2023 and has since strengthened the startup by recruiting top AI researchers from Google DeepMind, Microsoft, and OpenAI while building large-scale AI data centers to compete with leading AI firms. To support these efforts, he has embarked on an aggressive fundraising campaign, securing $6 billion in December, which valued xAI at $45 billion. According to Musk, the startup’s valuation has since risen to $80 billion.

xAI has made significant strides in narrowing the gap with OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic. In February, it launched Grok 3, a cutting-edge AI model that performs competitively against industry leaders in math, science, and coding benchmarks.

Musk Challenges OpenAI’s Shift to Profit, Files Lawsuit, and Makes $97B Bid

Despite xAI’s progress, Musk continues to challenge OpenAI, the company he co-founded with Sam Altman. He has actively opposed its transition to a for-profit model—crucial for securing future investments—through multiple strategies. His lawsuit against OpenAI centers on this shift, and in February, he attempted to acquire the company with a $97 billion takeover bid. OpenAI’s board swiftly rejected the offer, but the bid may have already increased OpenAI’s market valuation.

One of xAI’s biggest advantages over OpenAI and other competitors is its access to X. The vast archive of posts on the platform provides valuable training data for AI models, while X itself serves as a large-scale consumer app for reaching users.

Musk has a track record of intertwining his various companies, sometimes leading to legal challenges. With xAI now acquiring X, the two entities have effectively merged—suggesting that X’s true strategic value lies in furthering Musk’s larger AI ambitions.

Read the original article on: TechCrunch

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