Elon Musk is combining his space exploration and artificial intelligence ventures into one company that is expected to launch a massive initial public offering later this year.
his rocket adventure, space exploration technologies corp.The acquisition of xAI, announced on Monday, is aimed at helping the world’s richest man dominate rocket and artificial intelligence businesses. The deal will combine several of his products, Including his artificial intelligence chatbot Grokhis Satellite communications company Starlinkand his social media company X.
Musk has repeatedly spoken about the need to accelerate the development of technology to enable data centers to operate in space. He believes this will help overcome the huge cost of electricity and other resources required to build and run artificial intelligence systems on Earth.
Musk said when announcing the deal that the combined company could more easily achieve that goal.
“In the long term, space-based AI is clearly the only way to scale,” Musk wrote on the SpaceX website on Monday, before adding of solar power, “It’s always sunny in space!”
Musk said in a statement that he estimates “within 2 to 3 years, the cheapest way to generate artificial intelligence computing will be in space.”
SpaceX will work with GoogleThe company is working on a research project called Project Suncatcher, which will equip solar satellites with artificial intelligence computer chips, and a prototype could be launched as early as next year.
But Musk’s predictions for the near future of space-based AI supercomputers aren’t shared by many other companies building data centers, including Microsoft.
“I would be surprised if people moved from land to low-Earth orbit,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said. told The Associated Press last monthwhen asked about alternatives for building data centers in the United States amid growing community opposition.
Musk already faces stiff competition in the artificial intelligence space, where he has struggled to compete with rivals such as OpenAI, which is also working toward an IPO. Musk’s dislike of OpenAI, which he helped create more than a decade ago, is part of what prompted him to launch xAI in 2023 and build an alternative to ChatGPT (which he named Grok).
Musk has Tesla has equally ambitious plans He’s trying to get a company with shrinking car sales to focus more on artificial intelligence-powered self-driving taxis and humanoid robots.
Tesla A $2 billion investment in xAI was recently announced.
Musk has previously used his control of multiple companies to consolidate businesses. Ten years ago, Tesla acquired SolarCity. He recently had xAI purchase his social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
In recent months, rumors have begun to swirl on Wall Street that the billionaire is continuing to combine his many businesses into a large Musk company, with some investors speculating that Tesla may also merge with SpaceX.
Forbes magazine estimates Musk’s net worth at $768 billion. He also owns a brain implant company called Neuralink and a tunneling company called The Boring Company.
The terms of SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI were not disclosed. Among the companies’ outside investors is a fund in which President Donald Trump’s son, Don Jr., is a partner. The company, 1789 Capital, made more than $1 billion worth of investments in multiple Musk companies last year, including SpaceX, xAI and X, according to data provider Pitchbook, but it has already cashed out some.
While it pursues data centers in space, xAI is also rapidly expanding to Earth. Mississippi officials announced last month that the company plans to build a $20 billion data center near the state’s border with Tennessee.
The data center, called MACROHARDRR (a possible pun on Microsoft’s name), will be its third in the greater Memphis area.
Musk also hopes the combined company can eventually help achieve another goal he’s long talked about – colonizing other planets in the event of a natural or man-made disaster on Earth.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, Musk mused that humans are “a small candle in a vast darkness, a small candle of consciousness that is easily extinguished.”