SpaceX has officially taken over another of Elon Musk’s enterprises, xAI. Announced on Monday afternoon, this acquisition aims to establish a groundbreaking, vertically-integrated innovation platform that extends both on Earth and beyond.
“SpaceX has acquired xAI to form the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth, inclusive of AI, rockets, space-based internet, direct-to-mobile communications, and a leading real-time information and free speech platform,” the company stated. “This signifies not merely the next chapter, but an entirely new book in SpaceX and xAI’s mission: scaling to create a sentient sun to comprehend the Universe and project the light of consciousness to the stars!”
The integration of SpaceX, Musk’s most triumphant enterprise, with the more speculative firm xAI is considered a bold move. Established in 2023, xAI’s primary offerings include the generative AI chatbot, Grok, and the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter. The company's objective is to contest OpenAI and other AI companies. Nonetheless, Grok has attracted criticism for generating AI images that sexualized women and children, alongside Musk’s controversial management of Twitter.
Vertically Integrating AI and Space
The merger between SpaceX, the premier spaceflight company, and the AI firm could unlock significant strategic opportunities. Musk is a strong proponent of the role of artificial intelligence in humanity’s future and aspires to be a key leader in its advancement. This acquisition enables the use of SpaceX’s substantial expertise in rapid launches and satellite development to establish a network of up to 1 million orbital data centers, providing the computational backbone essential for xAI's operations.
Musk's vision for the consolidated entities depends on several premises: that AI is a sustainable technology for the future, not a transient bubble; that orbital data centers can be more economical than terrestrial equivalents; and that resolving the compute power constraint is vital for the comprehensive societal adoption of AI.