SpaceX, the Elon Musk-owned rocket company that merged earlier this year with his artificial intelligence company xAI, confidentially filed plans for an initial public offering Wednesday in what might be the largest of all time, according to multiple reports.
The filing was reported by Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The SEC said it had no comment on the matter.
The filing will lead to a sale of shares by June or July, according to the published reports. Confidential filings are used by companies to share information with the SEC and investors before they have to disclose to the broader public.
How much SpaceX plans to raise through a sale of some of its shares are not yet available due to the confidential nature.
But CEO and principal shareholder Elon Musk is expected to control a majority of voting shares once the details are revealed. And it could make Musk, already the world’s richest person, that much richer.
SpaceX was valued at $800 billion and xAI $230 billion at their most recent funding round in January according to PitchBook, a research firm that tracks the valuation of private companies. That puts the combined companies’ worth at more than $1 trillion.
This first public stock sale could push the company’s value even higher as investors look to profit from both a dominant company in the business of space travel as well as a major player in the rapidly growing field of artificial intelligence.
The filing comes the same day that NASA is set to launch its first crewed mission to the moon since the Apollo program.
SpaceX was started in 2002 by Tesla CEO and primary owner Elon Musk. The company has grown to be the dominant player for satellite launches and currently provides the sole way for American astronauts to travel to and from the International Space Station. It also has become a major provider of satellite internet service.
Musk confirmed plans for SpaceX’s Wall Street debut late last year.
SpaceX bought another Musk-owned company, xAI – which is the parent of social media platform X – for an undisclosed amount in February. And at the time of the merger, Musk announced plans to launch a network of one million satellites to serve as AI data centers. That could potentially overcome the massive demands for electricity and cooling water needed by ground-based data centers.
This stock sale will not only raise cash for two capital-hungry businesses, SpaceX and xAI, it could also create one of the most valuable companies on the planet.
Wall Street’s AI buying spree
Wall Street has been on a buying spree for AI-related stocks. The most valuable company in the world is AI chipmaker Nvidia, with a current market cap of $4.2 billion, followed by companies with AI plays like Apple, Google parent Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook parent Meta. All are worth at least $1.4 trillion.
AI promises investors the chance to benefit from the use of the technology to increase productivity, sometimes at the cost of the number of workers companies employ.
SpaceX is at an inflection point. Its next generation of heavy rocket, dubbed “Starship” by the company, is still in development. The rocket has also suffered a number of mishaps and explosions during testing that have cast doubt on Musk’s ambitious timelines.
More capital could help the company in its pursuit of its more ambitious goals, like colonies on the moon and eventually Mars.
The xAI portion of the business has its own substantial cash needs. AI is a field with tremendous profit potential, but huge needs for cash in the near term to build and operate costly data centers.
Two other major AI companies, OpenAI and Anthropic, are also reportedly working on plans for an IPO this year.
Source: CNN
--Agencies
