Cognition CEO Denies Report That SpaceX Tried to Acquire AI Startup

Cognition CEO Scott Wu has disputed a report that SpaceX attempted to acquire the AI coding startup, saying the company is not for sale and that the two sides have not held acquisition talks.

Bloomberg reported that SpaceX had explored buying Cognition as Elon Musk’s company expands its ambitions in artificial intelligence and AI-assisted coding. Shortly after the report appeared, Wu responded on X, calling the story inaccurate and stating that Cognition “is not for sale.”

SpaceX is expanding deeper into AI coding

The report comes as SpaceX makes AI a larger part of its business. The company acquired Musk’s xAI earlier this year and has also moved to acquire Cursor, another major AI coding platform, in a $60 billion transaction.

Musk has made clear how important AI is to SpaceX’s long-term strategy. He recently told SpaceX employees that AI could account for 99% of the company’s value within four or five years, according to reporting from an internal meeting.

AI coding has emerged as one of the more commercially successful applications of generative AI, with tools capable of writing, reviewing and modifying software from natural-language instructions. Cognition competes in that market with Devin, its autonomous coding agent.

Cognition remains an independent AI startup

Cognition has built an enterprise customer base that includes Mercedes-Benz, Citi and Goldman Sachs. The company also expanded significantly after acquiring the remaining assets of rival Windsurf following a separate Google DeepMind deal involving Windsurf executives and researchers.

Its valuation has climbed rapidly as investor demand for AI coding companies has increased. Cognition raised $1 billion in May at a $25 billion post-money valuation and is now in early discussions about another funding round that could value the company at about $40 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Bloomberg also reported that although acquisition discussions are no longer active, SpaceX and Cognition could still explore ways to work together, including potential access to SpaceX computing capacity. Wu’s public denial addressed the acquisition claim but did not specifically comment on a possible commercial partnership.

For now, Cognition remains one of the largest independent companies in the increasingly competitive AI coding market, while SpaceX continues investing heavily to strengthen its position against established AI leaders.