SpaceX tried to buy AI coding startup Cognition — CEO denies, but Musk's AI push continues

Elon Musk's SpaceX attempted to acquire AI coding startup Cognition as part of its effort to catch up with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google in the artificial intelligence race, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Cognition CEO Scott Wu quickly disputed the report, posting on X that the story was inaccurate and that Cognition "is not for sale," adding that the two companies have not been in talks.

The report comes just days after SpaceX closed a $60 billion acquisition of Cursor, another AI coding startup. Earlier this year, SpaceX also acquired Musk's AI company, xAI, which went public in a blockbuster IPO in June, reaching a peak market capitalization of nearly $2.3 trillion.

SpaceX has pitched investors on its AI ambitions, which include plans to eventually build data centers in space. However, xAI's business remains relatively early-stage and has fallen behind competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic. The company has also struggled with reputational issues surrounding its chatbot Grok, including last year's "MechaHitler" incident and scandals involving nonconsensual sexual imagery this year, as it tries to win over enterprise customers.

Last week, Musk told SpaceX employees that in about "four or five years, AI will be 99% of the value" of the company, but achieving that will require SpaceX to generate significantly more revenue from AI. AI-assisted coding has emerged as one of the clearest ways to monetize the technology. Anthropic's meteoric growth, fueled largely by its Claude Code product, is proof of that. Bringing Cursor into the fold was part of that equation, and the companies were already working closely before the acquisition. The attempted approach to Cognition suggests SpaceX is aggressively seeking to expand its AI capabilities through acquisitions, even as it faces skepticism about its ability to compete with established players.