Elon Musk Consolidates Ventures, Eyes Space-Based AI
Elon Musk, the entrepreneur behind SpaceX and xAI, is merging his space and artificial intelligence companies. This move comes ahead of a planned public offering later this year.
SpaceX recently acquired xAI to unite Musk’s projects, including the Grok AI chatbot, Starlink satellite network, and the social media platform X.
Musk believes developing technology for data centers in space will cut the high costs of running AI systems on Earth. He suggests that having one company will make this easier.
Musk stated that using space for AI computing will eventually be cheaper. He also pointed out the constant availability of solar power in space.
Other companies, like Microsoft, are not as convinced about moving data centers to space. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, mentioned concerns about moving from land to low-Earth orbit due to growing community opposition to data centers.
Google has also explored using AI data centers in space with its Project Suncatcher, which involves solar-powered satellites with AI chips.
Musk has combined companies before, such as when Tesla bought SolarCity and xAI acquired X.
Beyond space data centers, xAI is expanding on Earth. The company plans to invest $20 billion in a new data center in Mississippi, called MACROHARDRR.
Musk hopes the combined company will help achieve his goal of colonizing other planets as a backup plan in case of disasters on Earth. He has spoken about the importance of preserving humanity.
