Billionaire businessman Elon Musk announced this Monday the merger of his aerospace company SpaceX with his artificial intelligence (AI) startup, xAI, to form a more ambitious form of innovation.
“SpaceX acquired xAI to form the most ambitious vertically integrated innovation engine, both on Earth and beyond, with AI, rockets, space internet, direct communication with mobile devices and the world’s leading platform for real-time information and freedom of expression,” Musk explained in a statement.
The tycoon highlighted, in the statement, that the global demand for electricity for AI cannot be met “with terrestrial solutions” without harming communities and the environment, therefore, “space AI is the only way to scale” in the long term.
According to Musk, launching one million tons of satellites per year would add 100 gigawatts of AI computing capacity annually, without the need for ongoing operations or maintenance.
Therefore, he predicted that, within two or three years, the most economical way to generate AI computing power will be in space.
“This cost-benefit ratio will allow innovative companies to advance in training their AI models and processing data at unprecedented speeds and scales”, he highlighted.
Musk also discussed a new constellation of satellites that will be based on space sustainability design and “well-established” operational strategies, such as their destruction at the end of their useful life.
The businessman who also owns the social network X highlighted that, although launching AI satellites from Earth is his short-term objective, the capabilities of his Starship rocket system will also allow operations in other locations, such as the Moon.
“Once there, it will be possible to establish a permanent presence for scientific and manufacturing activities,” Musk noted, stressing that lunar factories can take advantage of the Moon’s resources to manufacture satellites and deploy them in space.
According to the Bloomberg agency, the company resulting from the merger is expected to go public through an initial public offering (IPO) valued at approximately US$1.25 billion.
xAI, which merged with the social network X in 2025, is currently facing a series of investigations in Europe, India and the state of California for using its artificial intelligence, Grok, to generate sexually explicit content, including images that may involve minors.
Meanwhile, SpaceX, founded in 2002 by Musk, has become NASA’s main launch services provider and also owns Starlink, which has more than 9,000 satellites in orbit, according to CNBC.
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