By Abubakar Yunusa
xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) startup, has acquired X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, in an all-stock transaction valued at $33 billion.
Musk announced the acquisition on X on Friday, adding that the deal will merge X’s vast data resources with xAI’s advanced AI models.
“xAI has acquired X in an all-stock transaction. The combination values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45B less $12B debt),” he wrote.
“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent.”
While Musk emphasised the strategic alignment between the two firms, specifics on leadership integration and regulatory oversight remain unclear.
The tech billionaire acquired X in October 2022 for $44 billion.
In January, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Musk over alleged violations related to the Twitter acquisition.
The lawsuit, filed in a Washington D.C. federal court, accused the billionaire of failing to disclose his ownership of more than five percent of Twitter shares on time, which allegedly allowed him to buy stock at artificially low prices.
In response, Musk criticised the SEC, accusing the agency of ignoring more serious crimes while focusing on trivial matters.
xAI was launched two years ago with a goal to “understand the true nature of the universe”.
The company raised $6 billion in a Series C funding round in December 2024, which brought its valuation to $45 billion.
Never miss a moment! Get the stories shaping Nigeria, delivered straight to your phone. Follow Peoplesdaily Newspaper on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive reports, and the headlines everyone will be talking about, before anyone else.
