In a groundbreaking business move, Elon Musk has announced the sale of his social media platform, X, to his own artificial intelligence venture, xAI, in a staggering all-stock deal valued at $33 billion. The announcement was made on Friday, marking a significant shift in the landscape of both social media and artificial intelligence.

Musk shared on X that this strategic acquisition will "unlock immense potential" by merging xAI’s cutting-edge artificial intelligence capabilities with the extensive reach of X. According to his statement, the deal values xAI at approximately $80 billion while placing X’s valuation at $33 billion.

Musk, who is also known for his roles as CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and as an advisor to former President Donald Trump, originally purchased X—then known as Twitter—for $44 billion in 2022. Since then, he has implemented significant changes, including staff reductions and a shift in policies regarding hate speech, misinformation, and user verification, ultimately rebranding the platform to X. xAI was launched just a year later.

In his announcement, Musk emphasized the synergy between xAI and X, stating, “xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution, and talent. This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach. The combined company will deliver smarter, more meaningful experiences to billions of people while staying true to our core mission of seeking truth and advancing knowledge.”

While the full implications of this acquisition remain uncertain for X users, it is noteworthy that xAI has already been utilizing data from X user posts to enhance its AI models. Additionally, paying X users have been given access to Grok, an AI chatbot developed by xAI, which indicates a level of integration between the two platforms.

As the merger unfolds, many will be watching closely to see how this strategic alliance will reshape user experiences on X and expand the capabilities of xAI in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.