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Cognition CEO denies SpaceX acquisition report
Elon Musk’s SpaceX reportedly attempted to acquire AI coding startup Cognition to bolster its competitive position against OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, though Cognition CEO Scott Wu publicly denied the deal talks. Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing sources, that the acquisition discussions have stalled, but the two companies are still exploring collaboration, potentially involving Cognition using SpaceX’s computing capacity. Wu disputed the report on X, stating Cognition “is not for sale” and that no talks occurred. The news follows SpaceX’s $60 billion acquisition of AI coding firm Cursor, which closed last week, and the earlier integration of Musk’s xAI into SpaceX. After a blockbuster IPO in June, SpaceX’s market cap peaked near $2.3 trillion, with AI ambitions including space-based data centers. However, xAI’s chatbot Grok has faced controversies, including the “MechaHitler” incident and sexual imagery scandals, hindering enterprise adoption. Musk recently told employees AI could represent 99% of company value within five years. AI-assisted coding is a key monetization avenue, evidenced by Anthropic’s growth via Claude Code. Cursor and SpaceX released Grok 4.6 this month, excelling in coding benchmarks. Acquiring Cognition, maker of coding agent Devin with enterprise clients like Mercedes-Benz, Citi, and Goldman Sachs, would have strengthened SpaceX’s enterprise push. Cognition raised $1 billion at a $25 billion valuation in May and is reportedly seeking new funding at $40 billion. The startup previously acquired Windsurf’s assets after Google DeepMind’s $2.4 billion talent deal.