SpaceX Attempts to Acquire AI Coding Startup Cognition, CEO Disputes Report
SpaceX has made an attempt to acquire AI coding startup Cognition as part of its strategy to enhance its competitive edge against companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, according to a report from Bloomberg. Cognition CEO Scott Wu quickly refuted the claims, asserting on X that the company “is not for sale” and that no discussions have taken place between the two firms.
This news follows SpaceX’s recent $60 billion acquisition of Cursor, another AI coding startup, which completed last week. Earlier this year, SpaceX also acquired Musk’s AI venture, xAI, which had a noteworthy IPO in June, peaking at a market capitalization of nearly $2.3 trillion. Despite these developments, the xAI division remains in an early stage and has struggled to keep pace with its rivals.
Musk has conveyed to SpaceX employees his vision that AI could represent 99% of the company’s value within the next four or five years, emphasizing that achieving this goal necessitates significantly increased revenue from AI initiatives.
The integration of AI-assisted coding into their portfolio has become a priority for SpaceX, paralleling the success demonstrated by Anthropic’s Claude Code. SpaceX and Cursor have already collaborated on the release of Grok 4.6, a new AI model that outperforms previous versions in coding tasks and complex problem-solving.
According to the Bloomberg report, while discussions about the potential acquisition of Cognition are currently inactive, there are still negotiations underway regarding collaborative possibilities, such as leveraging SpaceX’s computing power. Wu did not confirm or deny this aspect in his response to the acquisition report.
Cognition is noted as one of the largest independent AI coding startups, recently completing a $1 billion funding round at a valuation of $25 billion, with reports now indicating early talks for a subsequent funding round aiming for a $40 billion valuation.
Notably, Cognition gained attention last year after it acquired the assets of competitor Windsurf, following Google DeepMind’s $2.4 billion acqui-hire of Windsurf’s top talent. Post-merger, Cognition streamlined its workforce, laying off 30 employees and offering buyouts to the remaining 200, imposing rigorous operational demands on those who chose to stay.
Both SpaceX and Cognition have not responded to requests for further comments regarding the reported acquisition talks.
