SpaceX Tried to Buy Cognition, CEO Says Not for Sale — SkimNews
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- SpaceX attempted to acquire AI coding startup Cognition as it tries to close the gap with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
- Cognition CEO Scott Wu disputed the report on X, calling it inaccurate, saying Cognition "is not for sale" and that the two companies haven't been in talks.
- Bloomberg reports deal talks are no longer active, but the companies are still discussing working together — potentially with Cognition using SpaceX's computing capacity — a specific claim Wu did not address in his denial.
- The report comes days after SpaceX closed its $60 billion acquisition of Cursor, another AI coding startup; Cursor and SpaceX jointly released Grok 4.6 this month.
- Cognition raised $1 billion at a $25 billion post-money valuation in late May and is now in early talks for a new round at $40 billion, per Bloomberg.
- Cognition acquired Windsurf's remaining assets last year after Google DeepMind acqui-hired Windsurf's CEO and top researchers in a $2.4 billion deal for talent and licensing rights.
Why it matters: For Cognition, the denial leaves a side door open — Bloomberg notes active partnership discussions, potentially involving SpaceX computing capacity, that Wu didn't address. For SpaceX, having just absorbed Cursor for $60B, pursuing Cognition's enterprise clients (Citi, Goldman Sachs, Mercedes-Benz) and Devin agent signals that integrating xAI alone isn't fast enough to win AI coding.
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