Space travel Rockets plus AI: Musk merges SpaceX and xAI
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has merged the aerospace company SpaceX and his AI developer xAI. Among other things, the companies are to build data centers in space together, as Musk announced.
02.02.2026, 23:13
03.02.2026, 01:10
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. He estimates that in two to three years, this will be the cheapest way to generate computing power for artificial intelligence, he wrote in a blog post.
First, however, the deal will allow Musk to provide xAI with billions from SpaceX's coffers. The AI company has a high capital outlay - and strong competitors, including Google and the ChatGPT inventor OpenAI.
SpaceX and, most recently, electric car manufacturer Tesla, which is also managed by Musk, have each already invested two billion dollars in xAI in financing rounds and received stakes in return.
According to the website "The Information", SpaceX paid 250 billion dollars for the takeover of xAI. There were no official figures. The combined space and AI supercompany is to be valued at a total of 1.25 trillion dollars, according to the financial service Bloomberg. Musk was already the head of both SpaceX and xAI.
Big ambitions
The SpaceX Starship rocket, which can carry larger loads into orbit, is set to play a key role in the construction of data centers in space. Musk spoke of hourly launches of the Starship rockets, each with a payload of 200 tons. This will be used to launch millions of tons of technology. According to Musk's already well-known ideas, such data centers will draw their power from solar energy - while on Earth, nuclear power is currently being expanded again for this purpose in the USA.
Factories on the moon could benefit from resources there and build satellites that could be placed even deeper in space, Musk continued. Within its corporate network, Tesla is developing humanoid robots that can also be used in adverse conditions. Musk has also been announcing his intention to colonize Mars for many years. Starship has only made test flights so far - not all of which have been successful.
USA dependent on SpaceX
SpaceX and xAI are both unlisted companies, which makes a merger easier. According to the Bloomberg financial service, a potential merger with Tesla has also been discussed at SpaceX.
SpaceX has been practically indispensable to the US space program for years. According to previous information, Musk holds a stake of around 40 percent in the company. According to earlier media reports, SpaceX was considering an IPO in which the company would raise 50 billion dollars and be valued at up to 1.5 trillion dollars in total. Bloomberg wrote that the IPO plans are still being pursued.
Controversy surrounding xAI
xAI is developing the chatbot Grok, which Musk sent into the race with ChatGPT, among others. Grok is currently being criticized because the software could be used to depict women in bikinis or lingerie. After the authorities took action, xAI restricted the possibilities. The online platform X, into which Musk converted Twitter, which he bought for 44 billion dollars, was also incorporated into xAI.
The development, training and operation of artificial intelligence require enormous resources. OpenAI, its competitor Anthropic and tech heavyweights such as Google and the Facebook group Meta are planning to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on expanding data centers. Whether Musk can actually gain an advantage by outsourcing technology to space is still up in the air, however.
