Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX and his artificial intelligence start-up xAI are reportedly considering a merger, a move that would consolidate SpaceX’s rockets and its satellite Internet subsidiary Starlink under a single umbrella with xAI—which oversees the social media platform X and the chatbot Grok.
The two branches of Musk’s expansive tech empire may merge ahead of a plan to take SpaceX public later this year, as per Reuters, which referenced an anonymous source and recent company filings. The anticipated initial public offering of SpaceX could potentially value the company at $1.5 trillion, according to the Financial Times. A merger with xAI could potentially enhance Musk’s vision to utilize SpaceX’s forthcoming Starship rocket to launch orbital AI data centers, experts have suggested.
Musk and other AI innovators are increasingly optimistic about space as a solution to the challenges associated with data centers: Despite being expensive to construct and power, the expanding data centers are crucial to the growth strategies of many AI companies. With the growing demand for AI, conventional data centers—and their power sources—may struggle to keep pace. In contrast, data centers in space would have virtually limitless access to solar energy—although such infrastructure would also have its limitations.
SpaceX and xAI have not yet responded to requests for comments on these potential merger talks.
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SpaceX and xAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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