SpaceX's Cognition Acquisition Bid: How Investors and Analysts Reacted

SpaceX reportedly attempted to acquire AI coding startup Cognition as it competes with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Cognition CEO Scott Wu denied the report, stating the company is not for sale. This follows SpaceX's recent $60 billion acquisition of Cursor and earlier this year's purchase of Elon Musk's xAI. SpaceX has been aggressively pursuing AI acquisitions, with CEO Musk stating AI will be 99% of the company's value in four to five years. Cognition, valued at $25 billion post-money after a $1 billion round, has enterprise clients like Mercedes-Benz, Citi, and Goldman Sachs. While the acquisition talks are no longer active, speculation persists about Cognition using SpaceX's cloud capacity. The company laid off 30 employees after acquiring Windsurf's assets and is now in early talks for a new $40 billion round. Neither SpaceX nor Cognition responded to comment requests.

While a successful acquisition would strengthen SpaceX's AI coding leadership, concerns remain about xAI's controversies and the company's need for significant AI investment. The long-term viability of this strategy is uncertain.