Key facts
- SpaceX reportedly attempted to acquire AI coding startup Cognition.
- Cognition CEO Scott Wu denied the report, stating the company is not for sale.
- SpaceX recently acquired AI coding startup Cursor.
- Cognition is reportedly in early talks for new funding at a $40 billion valuation.
SpaceX reportedly attempted to acquire AI coding startup Cognition as it seeks to bolster its artificial intelligence capabilities and compete with major players like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. The acquisition attempt, which Cognition CEO Scott Wu has denied, comes shortly after SpaceX acquired another AI coding startup, Cursor, for $60 billion.
Despite the denial, Bloomberg reported that deal talks are no longer active but that the companies are still discussing potential collaboration, possibly involving Cognition utilizing SpaceX's computing capacity. Cognition, which has developed the AI coding agent Devin and serves enterprise clients including Mercedes-Benz, Citi, and Goldman Sachs, recently raised $1 billion at a $25 billion valuation and is reportedly in early talks for a new funding round at $40 billion.
SpaceX, under CEO Elon Musk, has been vocal about its AI ambitions, including building data centers in space. The company acquired Musk's AI firm xAI earlier this year and has seen its chatbot Grok face controversies. Musk has emphasized the growing importance of AI to SpaceX's future value, with AI expected to constitute 99% of the company's value in four to five years. AI-assisted coding is seen as a key area for monetization, with Anthropic's success with Claude Code and the joint release of Grok 4.6 by Cursor and SpaceX highlighting this trend.