xAI

Artificial intelligence company behind the Grok models, now part of SpaceX as SpaceXAI.

AILarge language modelsAI infrastructureAcquired

Acquired^{Source [1]}^{Source [10]}Last verified Oct 2, 2026

About xAI

xAI is the artificial intelligence company behind the Grok family of models. Elon Musk announced it in July 2023 with the stated goal to understand the true nature of the universe, and it released its first model, Grok, on X in November 2023.^{Source [2]}^{Source [8]}^{Source [6]}

Its products grew to include the Grok chatbot and apps, the xAI API for developers, the Aurora image model, Grok Business and xAI Gov. It built the Colossus supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee, which by December 2024 ran 100,000 Nvidia Hopper GPUs.^{Source [5]}^{Source [1]}

In March 2025 xAI acquired X Holdings Corp., the owner of X, in an all-stock deal. SpaceX acquired xAI effective February 2, 2026, and in July 2026 it was renamed SpaceXAI. It now forms SpaceX's AI segment, which reported $3.20 billion of revenue in 2025 including X advertising.^{Source [9]}^{Source [1]}^{Source [7]}

Musk built the company with 11 co-founding researchers drawn from Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft and elsewhere, led by chief engineer Igor Babuschkin. By March 2026 all 11 had reportedly left.^{Source [3]}^{Source [4]}

What happened

Began operations in March 2023 and was announced by Elon Musk in July 2023. It acquired X Holdings Corp., owner of X, in an all-stock deal on March 28, 2025. SpaceX acquired it effective February 2, 2026, and in July 2026 it was renamed SpaceXAI.^{Source [1]}^{Source [2]}^{Source [9]}^{Source [10]}^{Source [7]}

Timeline

2026-07Officially renamed SpaceXAI.^{Source [7]}
2026-03The last of its 11 co-founders reportedly left.^{Source [4]}
2026-02-02Acquired by SpaceX.^{Source [1]}^{Source [10]}
2025-03-28Acquired X Holdings Corp. in an all-stock deal valuing X at $33 billion.^{Source [9]}^{Source [1]}
2024-12-23Closed a $6 billion Series C; Colossus was running 100,000 Nvidia Hopper GPUs.^{Source [5]}
2024-05-26Announced a $6 billion Series B.^{Source [6]}
2023-11-03Announced Grok, its first AI model, with real-time knowledge from X.^{Source [8]}
2023-07-12Elon Musk publicly announced the company.^{Source [2]}
2023-03Began operations.^{Source [1]}

Products and brands

Grok: Family of frontier AI models and the chatbot built on them, available on X and in its own apps.^{Source [8]}^{Source [1]}
xAI API: Developer access to Grok models.^{Source [5]}^{Source [1]}
Grok Business and xAI Gov: Subscription offerings for organizations and government customers.^{Source [1]}
Aurora: Image generation model used in Grok.^{Source [5]}
Colossus: AI training data centers in Memphis, Tennessee and Southaven, Mississippi.^{Source [5]}^{Source [1]}

How it makes money: Within SpaceX's AI segment, revenue comes from advertising on X ($1.84 billion in 2025) and from AI solutions and infrastructure such as subscriptions and API access ($1.36 billion in 2025).^{Source [1]}

Leadership

Elon Musk

Chief Executive Officer; later also President and Treasurer^{Source [1]}^{Source [11]}

2023 to 2026

Funding and financials

Valuation: $230 billion at its last funding round in January 2026, per PitchBook^{Source [10]}

Date	Round	Amount	Investors
2024-12	Series C^{Source [5]}	$6 billion	A16Z, BlackRock, Fidelity, Kingdom Holdings, Lightspeed, MGX, Morgan Stanley, OIA, QIA, Sequoia Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital; Nvidia and AMD as strategic investors
2024-05	Series B^{Source [6]}	$6 billion	Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and Kingdom Holding, among others

Notable acquisitions

X Holdings Corp. (X, formerly Twitter)^{Source [9]}^{Source [1]}

2025

All-stock deal valuing X at $33 billion

People on Founded, and where they went next

1 person on record, connected to 10 other companies.

Person	Here	Also built
Elon Musk	Founder and CEO, President and Treasurer2023 to 2026	X Corp.2022 to 2025AcquiredThe Boring Company2017ActiveNeuralink2016ActiveOpenAI2015 to 2018ActiveSolarCity2006 to 2016AcquiredTesla2004 to nowIPOSpaceX2002 to nowIPOPayPal2000IPOX.com1999MergedZip21995 to 1999Acquired

Sources

Prospectus (Form 424B4), Space Exploration Technologies Corp., SEC EDGAR, 2026-06-12. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Elon Musk launches his new company, xAI, CNBC, 2023-07-12. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
xAI (company), Wikipedia. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
All 11 xAI co-founders have now reportedly left Elon Musk's AI company, The Next Web, 2026-03-28. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
xAI raises $6B Series C, xAI (now SpaceXAI), 2024-12-23. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Series B funding round, xAI (now SpaceXAI), 2024-05-26. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
xAI is now officially known as SpaceXAI, Engadget via Yahoo Finance, 2026-07-07. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Announcing Grok, xAI (now SpaceXAI), 2023-11-03. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Elon Musk says xAI has acquired X in deal that values social media site at $33 billion, CNBC, 2025-03-28. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Elon Musk's SpaceX acquires xAI, merging his two most ambitious companies, CNN, 2026-02-02. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Tesla, Inc. Form 10-K/A (Part III: directors and executive officers), SEC EDGAR, 2026-04-30. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.

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