SAN FRANCISCO: Elon Musk’s xAI has acquired X in a deal that values the social media platform at $33 billion and allows the value of his artificial intelligence firm to be shared with his co-investors in the company formerly known as Twitter.

The deal could also help xAI’s ability to train its chatbot known as Grok.

“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined,” Musk, who also heads automaker Tesla and SpaceX, wrote in a post on X: “Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent.” He said the combination values “xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45bn less $12bn debt)”.

Representatives for X and xAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Much of the deal’s specifics remain unclear, such as how X’s leaders would be integrated in the new firm or whether there would be regulatory scrutiny.

Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, is also a close ally of US President Donald Trump and heads the Department of Government Efficiency.

Saudi Arabian investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns the investment company Kingdom Holding, said he had requested the development. He noted his companies are the second-largest investors in X and xAI. “After this deal, the value of our investments is expected to reach between $4-$5 billion... and the meter is running,” he wrote on X.

D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said the price tag for X of $45bn when debt was included was not a coincidence. “It is $1 billion higher than the take-private transaction for Twitter in 2022.” An investor in xAI who declined to be identified said they were not surprised by the deal, viewing it as Musk consolidating his leadership and management at his own companies.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2025