Cognition denies report that SpaceX tried to acquire AI start-up
What's the story
Scott Wu, the CEO of AI coding start-up Cognition, has denied a recent report claiming that Elon Musk's SpaceX attempted to acquire his company. The report was published by Bloomberg and cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter. Wu took to social media platform X to refute the claims, stating that "Cognition is not for sale" and that there have been no talks between the two firms.
Strategic moves
SpaceX acquired Cursor for $60 billion last week
The denial from Cognition comes just days after SpaceX's $60 billion acquisition of another AI coding start-up, Cursor. The deal was finalized last week.
Earlier this year, SpaceX had also acquired Musk's own AI company, xAI. The acquisition led to a successful IPO in June with a market cap peaking at nearly $2.3 trillion.
Future plans
Controversies surrounding xAI's chatbot Grok
SpaceX has big plans for its AI ambitions, including building data centers in space. However, the xAI business is still in its early stages and has not been able to keep up with competitors.
It has also faced controversies with its chatbot Grok, including the "MechaHitler" incident last year and non-consensual sexual imagery scandals this year.
AI focus
Musk believes AI will dominate SpaceX in the future
Last week, Musk told SpaceX employees that he sees AI making up 99% of the company's value in about four or five years.
However, to achieve this goal, SpaceX will have to generate a lot more revenue from AI.
This is where AI-assisted coding comes into play as one of the most promising ways to monetize this technology.
Future prospects
Cognition raised $1 billion at $25 billion valuation
Cognition is one of the largest independent AI software coding start-ups yet to be acquired by a major AI model maker. The company raised $1 billion at a $25 billion post-money valuation in late May.
Bloomberg reports that Cognition is now in early talks for another funding round at a $40 billion valuation.
While Wu denied the acquisition rumors, he didn't address claims about potential collaboration with SpaceX using its computing capacity.