HAWTHORNE, California, January 17, 2026 – SpaceX has acquired xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, in a deal that combines SpaceX’s spaceflight expertise with xAI’s advanced AI models to accelerate development of intelligent systems for space missions, satellite operations, and future Mars colonization efforts.

The acquisition, confirmed by both companies late Thursday, integrates xAI’s Grok family of large language models and reasoning capabilities directly into SpaceX’s engineering and operations teams.

xAI will operate as a subsidiary under SpaceX, with its headquarters remaining in the San Francisco Bay Area while closely collaborating with SpaceX facilities in Hawthorne and Starbase, Texas.

Elon Musk stated in a post on X: “SpaceX and xAI have always shared the goal of understanding the universe. Bringing xAI into SpaceX will allow us to apply Grok’s reasoning to real-world problems in spaceflight, from autonomous Starship operations to optimizing Mars habitats.”

xAI, founded in 2023, has focused on building “maximally truth-seeking” AI systems. Its Grok models, trained on public data and real-time information from X, have been used for scientific discovery, code generation, and complex problem-solving. The company recently raised $6 billion in funding at a $50 billion valuation.

The merger aims to create AI tools tailored for space challenges, including real-time mission planning, predictive maintenance for Starlink satellites, anomaly detection in rocket telemetry, and autonomous navigation for Starship. SpaceX plans to deploy Grok-enhanced systems on upcoming Starship flights and Starlink constellation management.

Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal is subject to regulatory review, expected to close in the first half of 2026.

The acquisition consolidates Musk’s AI and space ambitions under one umbrella, following xAI’s earlier collaborations with SpaceX on satellite data analysis and trajectory optimization. It also positions SpaceX to compete more aggressively in AI-driven aerospace against rivals like Blue Origin and emerging players.

xAI employees will transition to SpaceX payroll, with continued focus on open-source AI initiatives and Grok model development.