Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, has recently acquired X, as confirmed by a post shared by Musk himself. The connection between the two companies goes beyond their similar names and ownership, as they are already linked through xAI’s chatbot Grok, which is seamlessly integrated into X.
The acquisition of X by xAI was completed through an all-stock transaction. Musk stated that this merger values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion (after deducting $12 billion in debt). According to Musk, the futures of xAI and X are intricately intertwined. The companies have ambitious plans to merge their data, models, computing power, distribution channels, and talent. Leveraging X’s extensive reach as a social platform, they aim to propagate xAI’s advanced AI capabilities. While the post did not delve into specific details, it hinted that the motivations behind the acquisition could be both financial and practical.
In 2022, Musk had previously acquired X, formerly known as Twitter, for $43 billion. Similarly, xAI, like many prominent AI firms, has been actively fundraising to support its growth. By amalgamating these two companies, not only could there be potential advantages in utilizing social media posts for AI training, but it also helps alleviate some of the debt incurred by Musk when he took Twitter private. This strategic move is reminiscent of Musk’s previous actions in 2016 when Tesla merged with SolarCity for $2.6 billion.
The original article was published on Engadget. You can find more information on the acquisition announcement on Elon Musk’s Twitter account.
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