Elon Musk has announced that he has sold the social media platform X to his artificial intelligence firm, xAI, in an all-stock transaction valued at $33 billion.
As both businesses are privately owned, they are not obligated to share their financial details with the public.
In a post on X, Musk stated that this acquisition will “unlock immense potential by merging xAI’s cutting-edge AI capabilities with X’s extensive reach.”
He noted that this deal values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion.
Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and has served as an advisor to former President Donald Trump, purchased the platform, previously known as Twitter, for $44 billion in 2022. Since then, he has significantly reduced its workforce and altered its policies concerning hate speech, misinformation, and user verification, rebranding it as X.
He introduced xAI a year later.
“The futures of xAI and X are closely linked. Today marks the official step towards merging our data, models, computing power, distribution channels, and talent. This integration will unleash tremendous potential by combining xAI’s sophisticated AI capabilities with X’s expansive reach,” Musk wrote on X. “The unified company aims to provide smarter, more impactful experiences to billions, while remaining committed to our core mission of seeking truth and fostering knowledge.”
It remains uncertain whether this transition will affect X users. Currently, xAI utilizes data from X users to train its AI models, and subscribers to X have access to the AI chatbot, Grok.
— Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press
