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Elon Musk says that his AI venture xAI has acquired his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.<\/p>\n
In an X post Friday, Musk said the all-stock transaction values xAI at $80bn (\u00a361.8bn) and X at $33bn.<\/p>\n
Musk paid $44bn for Twitter in 2022.<\/p>\n
“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined,” Musk wrote on X Friday. “Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The move may be aimed at protecting investors, who helped him buy purchase X, from losing money.<\/p>\n
Both X and xAI are privately held and share some major investors. They also share significant resources.<\/p>\n
“The combined company will deliver smarter, more meaningful experiences to billions of people while staying true to our core mission of seeking truth and advancing knowledge,” Musk wrote.<\/p>\n
XAI has used data from social media posts on X to train its models, and its chatbot Grok is a prominent feature on the platform.<\/p>\n
“The move appears sensible, considering the current trend of increased investments in AI, data centres, and computing,” said analyst Paolo Pescatore, founder of PP Foresight. <\/p>\n
Mr Musk has been locked in a legal battle with OpenAI, the company he-founded in 2015 with CEO Sam Altman.<\/p>\n
Last year, Mr Musk sued OpenAI and Mr. Altman for straying from the company’s original mission and pushing to transition the startup to a for-profit model.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported<\/a> that OpenAI was finalizing a $40bn funding round with the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank. The outlet also reported the funds are contingent on the company completing its restructuring to a for-profit entity.<\/p>\n OpenAI did not respond to a BBC inquiry about the arrangement.<\/p>\n Critics say Mr Musk is suing the ChatGPT makers because he wanted to control it.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, a consortium led by Mr Musk made an unsolicited $97.4bn takeover bid for OpenAI, which Mr Altman rejected, saying the company is not for sale.<\/p>\n The business manoeuvring is happening as Mr Musk has taken more of an interest in politics, now serving as President Donald Trump’s right-hand. <\/p>\n He has spearheaded the administration’s push to slash federal spending and is spending the weekend in Wisconsin where he has contributed millions to a state Supreme Court race.<\/p>\n Wisconsin’s attorney general asked a court Friday to block Mr Musk from distributing $1m checks<\/a> to voters there ahead of the election. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n