SpaceX in merger talks with xAI ahead of potential blockbuster IPO: report
Elon Musk’s SpaceX and xAI are in discussions to merge ahead of a blockbuster public offering planned for later this year.The combination would bring Musk’s rockets, Starlink satellites, the X social media platform and Grok AI chatbot under one roof, according to a person briefed on the matter and two recent company filings seen by Reuters.The plan, which Reuters is reporting exclusively, would give fresh momentum to SpaceX’s effort to launch data centers into orbit as Musk battles for supremacy in the rapidly escalating AI race against tech giants like Google, Meta and OpenAI.Musk, the world’s richest man, is the CEO of both the private space company SpaceX and the artificial intelligence company xAI, which controls his social media platform X.
He also runs electric automaker Tesla, tunnel company The Boring Co.and neurotechnology company Neuralink.Musk, SpaceX, and xAI did not respond to requests for comment.Under the proposed merger, shares of xAI would be exchanged for shares in SpaceX.
Two entities have been set up in Nevada to facilitate the transaction, the person said.Reuters could not determine the value of the deal, its primary rationale, or its potential timing.Corporate filings in Nevada show that those entities were set up on January 21.One of them, a limited liability company, lists SpaceX and Bret Johnsen, the company’s chief financial officer, as managing members, while the other lists Johnsen as the company’s only officer, the filings show.The filings don’t contain additional information about the purpose of the companies or their role in any deal.Johnsen did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.The person, who requested anonymity because the discussions are confidential, said that some xAI executives could be given the option to receive cash instead of SpaceX stock as part of the deal.
A final agreement, however, hasn’t been signed, and the timing and structure of the transaction remain fluid, the person cautioned.Spa...