Elon Musk announced Friday that his artificial intelligence startup xAI has acquired X, formerly Twitter, in an all-stock transaction. The deal values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45 billion minus $12 billion in debt).
“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined,” Musk posted on X. “Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent.”
The merger formalizes an already close relationship between the companies. xAI’s Grok chatbot has been available to X users for months, but this deal places X squarely under the umbrella of Musk’s AI ambitions, potentially giving xAI a significant advantage in the competitive AI landscape.
“This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach,” Musk stated, noting that X now has over 600 million active users.
The transaction represents a stabilization for X, which Musk purchased for $44 billion in 2022. Since then, the platform has weathered advertiser departures and dramatic valuation swings, with investment firm Fidelity at one point estimating its worth at less than $10 billion.
Recent months have seen a rebound, with major advertisers including Amazon and Apple reportedly returning to the platform. This recovery coincides with Musk’s growing political influence as head of President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
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Founded less than two years ago, xAI has rapidly established itself as a competitor to other AI leaders, including OpenAI, which Musk co-founded in 2015 before leaving. In February, xAI released Grok 3, an AI model competitive with industry leaders on various benchmarks.
The merger adds to Musk’s already substantial portfolio, which includes Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink, further consolidating his influence across technology sectors.
