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What xAI is telling employees about the SpaceX merger

Elon Musk speaks on stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Harun Ozalp/Anadolu via Getty Images
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XAI told workers the company won't be changing its name anytime soon, even after it announced SpaceX had acquired the company on Monday.

In a Q&A sent to employees on Monday, the company said xAI's mission remains "unchanged" and that its price-to-share valuation will remain the same. Workers will soon learn more about how the acquisition will impact their equity, according to the Q&A.

The combined company continues to prepare for a "possible IPO in 2026," according to the memo.

"Whether it actually happens, when it happens, and at what valuation are still highly uncertain," it said.

SpaceX, which Musk founded in 2002, has reportedly been gearing up for an initial public offering that could value it at $1.5 trillion.

SpaceX and xAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

XAI plans to hold an all-hands in the coming days and host trainings related to the merger, the internal memo said. For now, both companies will maintain their separate branding, but the company "will be looking at how this might change in the future," it said.

Despite the acquisition, xAI staff will not be allowed to access internal SpaceX databases or collaborate directly with workers at the rocket ship company without direct approval, the memo said. The companies will be kept separate due to regulations that control the sharing of defense and space-related technology that could impact national security. SpaceX workers may be allowed access to xAI internal tools, it said.

SpaceX and xAI CEO Elon Musk sent a memo to staff earlier on Monday announcing the acquisition. In the email, which was later shared online, he said the merger would allow the combined company to eventually launch data centers in space.

He wrote that the deal would create "the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth, with AI, rockets, space-based internet, direct-to-mobile device communications and the world's foremost real-time information and free speech platform."

Last year, Musk announced that xAI merged with his social media company, X.

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Grace Kay
Grace Kay was a Correspondent on Business Insider’s enterprise desk, where she covered the inner workings of Tesla, Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, and the broader robotics and electric vehicle industries.Her stories have been cited by multiple publications, including Reuters, Bloomberg, and CNBC. Before joining Business Insider, she worked at Bloomberg and Forbes.Tesla: Inside 'Project Rodeo,' the Tesla effort pushing the limits of self-driving technologyInternal Tesla salary database shows Elon Musk's strategy: Lower salaries, bigger stock grantsTesla tells staff it plans to roll out its Robotaxi service in San Francisco this weekendTesla has been working on modified Model Ys for its Robotaxi programTesla prioritizes Musk's and other 'VIP' drivers' data to train self-driving softwareAshok Elluswamy is the most powerful Tesla executive you've never heard ofxAI:Internal documents reveal how Elon Musk's xAI trains Grok to be the anti-woke chatbotXAI's Macrohard project stalls as Tesla ramps up a similar AI agent effortElon Musk's xAI plans to supply computing power to coding startup CursorWar rooms, group chats, and video games: Inside Elon Musk's AI startupBehind Grok's 'sexy' settings, workers review explicit and disturbing contentElon Musk's xAI lays off hundreds of workers tasked with training GrokEVs and robots:Fisker employees are fixing some customers' cars with parts from the company's vehicle 'graveyard,' sources sayFisker Ocean reservation cancellations top 40,000 as the EV company tries to fight off bankruptcy, leaked data showsInside the downfall of Henrik Fisker's second automotive startup, which just filed for bankruptcyInside the glass-walled Tesla lab where workers train the Optimus robot to act like a humanInside OpenAI's renewed push into robotics