Musk's xAI buys his social media platform X

Elon Musk says that his AI venture xAI has acquired his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

In an X post Friday, Musk said the all-stock transaction values xAI at $80bn (£61.8bn) and X at $33bn.

Musk paid $44bn for Twitter in 2022.

"xAI and X's futures are intertwined," Musk wrote on X Friday. "Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent."

The move may be aimed at protecting investors, who helped him buy purchase X, from losing money.

Both X and xAI are privately held and share some major investors. They also share significant resources.

"The combined company will deliver smarter, more meaningful experiences to billions of people while staying true to our core mission of seeking truth and advancing knowledge," Musk wrote.

XAI has used data from social media posts on X to train its models, and its chatbot Grok is a prominent feature on the platform.

"The move appears sensible, considering the current trend of increased investments in AI, data centres, and computing," said analyst Paolo Pescatore, founder of PP Foresight.

Mr Musk has been locked in a legal battle with OpenAI, the company he-founded in 2015 with CEO Sam Altman.

Last year, Mr Musk sued OpenAI and Mr. Altman for straying from the company's original mission and pushing to transition the startup to a for-profit model.

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI was finalizing a $40bn funding round with the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank. The outlet also reported the funds are contingent on the company completing its restructuring to a for-profit entity.

OpenAI did not respond to a BBC inquiry about the arrangement.

Critics say Mr Musk is suing the ChatGPT makers because he wanted to control it.

Earlier this year, a consortium led by Mr Musk made an unsolicited $97.4bn takeover bid for OpenAI, which Mr Altman rejected, saying the company is not for sale.

The business manoeuvring is happening as Mr Musk has taken more of an interest in politics, now serving as President Donald Trump's right-hand.

He has spearheaded the administration's push to slash federal spending and is spending the weekend in Wisconsin where he has contributed millions to a state Supreme Court race.

Wisconsin's attorney general asked a court Friday to block Mr Musk from distributing $1m checks to voters there ahead of the election.