SpaceX and xAI Merger Talks Signal Musk’s Orbital AI Ambitions

Elon Musk's SpaceX and xAI are negotiating a share-swap merger ahead of SpaceX's planned IPO, Reuters reported. The deal WOULD consolidate Musk's ventures under one financial umbrella, with Nevada-based entities created in January potentially facilitating the transaction. Neither SpaceX nor xAI commented.

The merger aligns with Musk's vision of space as the future hub for AI infrastructure. At Davos, he asserted orbital data centers will become the cheapest AI hosting solution within three years. Starlink's updated privacy policy—allowing customer data to train AI models unless users opt out—further hints at synergies between SpaceX's satellite network and xAI's algorithms.

Privacy experts express concern. Georgetown's Anupam Chander called the data-sharing implications "eyebrow-raising" for Starlink users. Polymarket traders assign an 81% probability to the merger's completion.