The significant corporate maneuver aligns Musk's social media platform with his artificial intelligence venture, reshaping the landscape of both industries.
Elon Musk has officially merged his artificial intelligence company xAI with his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in a transaction valued at $45 billion, inclusive of existing debts.
This strategic move was announced by Musk on Friday, marking a pivotal moment in the evolution of both entities.
Musk acquired Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion and subsequently rebranded it as X.
The merger reflects Musk's vision for a unified future between xAI and X, as he indicated that the integration of their data, models, and talents would cultivate a synergistic organization.
The combined enterprise is anticipated to reach an overall valuation of approximately $80 billion.
As part of the merger, X will now operate under the xAI umbrella, facilitating the legal utilization of X's content for training xAI's artificial intelligence model, Grok.
This positioning aims to enhance xAI's competitiveness against established firms in the sector, such as OpenAI, the organization responsible for ChatGPT.
Both X and xAI remain private entities and are therefore not obligated to issue formal public disclosures concerning the deal.
xAI, which was established in 2023, has reportedly attracted $6 billion in investments during its most recent funding round, elevating its valuation to $40 billion.
Musk previously made attempts to acquire OpenAI through a consortium, proposing a significant offer of $97.4 billion earlier this year, but the bid was ultimately rejected by OpenAI, which reiterated its commitment to independence.
In response to the growing competitive pressures in the artificial intelligence industry, xAI has been enhancing its data center capabilities, enabling the training of increasingly sophisticated AI models.