SpaceX Acquires xAI in Trillion-Dollar Deal Ahead of Potential IPO
Elon Musk's SpaceX acquired xAI, the artificial intelligence firm he founded three years prior, in a deal valued at $1.25 trillion, according to Fortune. The acquisition combines the two privately held firms into a single entity with plans for a historic initial public offering (IPO) this year.
Musk, who serves as CEO of both SpaceX and xAI, as well as Tesla, described the combination as one that will form "the most ambitious, vertically integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth," according to a blog post on SpaceX's website. He cited the potential for space-based data processing as a key driver behind the merger.
The deal comes amid ongoing debate about the effectiveness and security of AI in various sectors. A report by Index.dev in 2025 found that teams using AI completed 21% more tasks, but company-wide delivery metrics showed no improvement. Furthermore, a METR study in 2025 indicated that experienced developers were 19% slower when using AI coding assistants, despite believing they were faster. Security concerns were also raised by Apiiro in 2024, which found that 48% of AI-generated code contains security vulnerabilities.
In other news, Apple's latest smartwatch lineup, including the Apple Watch Series 11, SE 3, and Ultra 3, are currently on sale, according to The Verge. The Apple Watch SE 3 is available starting at $219, a $30 discount.
Meanwhile, oceanic whitetip sharks are rapidly disappearing due to the illegal trade of their fins for shark fin soup, Time reported. DNA testing on over 16,000 fins in Hong Kong, the world's largest shark fin market, revealed the species appearing 70 times more often than what governments reported. Traders trafficked fins from over 36,000 illegally caught oceanic whitetip sharks in just three years.
For those seeking literary escapes, Time also highlighted new books to read in February, including "The End of Romance" by Lily Meyer.
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