X, Elon Musk’s social media platform, has been acquired by xAI, his artificial intelligence company, in a deal worth $45 billion. Musk announced the all-stock deal on the app on Friday.
“The combination values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45B less $12B debt),” Musk posted.
He added the two companies futures are “intertwined,” and that the deal made sense for both sides.
“Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent. This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach,” Musk added. “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 bought the app formerly known as Twitter in late 2022 for $44 billion.
The deal comes after major advertisers, including Disney and Apple, have returned to X in recent months. Earlier this week, a new report from eMarketer projected X’s ad sales would jump 17.5% in the U.S. this year to $1.31 billion. And globally, X’s ad sales are estimated to hit $2.26 billion in 2025 — up 16.5% year-over-year. This would mark the first time ad sales have increased since Musk bought the app, following back-t0-back down years.
Musk on Friday said X has more than 600 million active users, making it the “digital town square.” He said the company has been “transformed into one of the most efficient companies in the world” in the little more than two years since he bought it; Musk notably cut about 80% of Twitter’s staff when he first took over.
The $45 billion price tag for X stands out, not only because it is $1 billion more than what Musk paid for the app, but because the app had been valued for much less just a few months ago; Fidelity, one of X’s investors, valued the company at $12.32 billion in December.
Notable moments for X under Musk have included the launch of Grok, its AI model, and the reactivation of President Trump’s account. The president had been banned under the leadership of previous boss Jack Dorsey, following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
