Cognition CEO Denies Bloomberg Report That SpaceX Tried to Acquire the AI Coding Startup
Scott Wu says Cognition is "not for sale" after Bloomberg reported SpaceX approached the Devin maker days after closing its $60 billion Cursor deal.
Overview
SpaceX approached AI coding startup Cognition about an acquisition, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, and Cognition did not engage, according to The Next Web. Cognition CEO Scott Wu disputed the report soon after it published, writing on X that the story was inaccurate, according to TechCrunch. Wu said publicly that his company is “not for sale and we haven’t been talking,” as The Next Web reported.
What We Know
The report comes a few days after SpaceX’s $60 billion acquisition of Cursor, another AI coding startup, whose deal closed on August 14, according to The Next Web. It would have been Cognition’s second large AI takeover approach in a matter of months, The Next Web noted.
According to TechCrunch, Bloomberg reports that the deal talks are no longer active, but that the companies are still discussing working together — potentially with Cognition using SpaceX’s computing capacity, which SpaceX is selling to other AI players like Anthropic until it needs that capacity for itself. Wu did not address that specific claim in his denial, TechCrunch reported. The Next Web independently reported the same computing-capacity detail, noting that Bloomberg describes an approach that was not taken up, alongside continuing discussions about working together, including a possible arrangement for Cognition to use SpaceX’s computing capacity, according to The Next Web.
Cognition’s coding agent is called Devin. TechCrunch reported that adding Cognition and Devin, along with an enterprise customer base that includes Mercedes-Benz, Citi, and Goldman Sachs, would have given SpaceX another way to deepen its push into AI coding, according to TechCrunch. The Next Web separately reported that Devin is used by Mercedes-Benz and GE Aerospace, according to The Next Web.
Cognition raised $1 billion at a $26 billion valuation in May and has been in early talks with investors this month at a valuation of at least $40 billion, The Next Web reported. TechCrunch separately reported that Cognition is now in early talks for a new round of funding at a $40 billion valuation, according to TechCrunch. Wu told Bloomberg in May that the round he had just closed was what allowed Cognition to “stay independent and continue as an independent business,” The Next Web reported.
SpaceX acquired Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, earlier this year and then went public in a blockbuster IPO in June, with its market capitalization rising to nearly $2.3 trillion at its peak, according to TechCrunch. Last week, Musk told SpaceX’s employees that in about “four or five years, AI will be 99% of the value” of the company, TechCrunch reported.
Cognition made headlines last year when it acquired the remaining assets of competitor Windsurf after Google DeepMind acqui-hired the startup’s CEO and top research staff in a $2.4 billion deal for talent and licensing rights, according to TechCrunch.
SpaceX and Cognition did not respond to TechCrunch’s requests for comment, TechCrunch reported.
What We Don’t Know
Bloomberg’s original reporting on the acquisition approach is not independently confirmed by an on-the-record statement from SpaceX. Wu’s denial addressed the acquisition claim directly but did not address the reported computing-capacity discussions, so it remains unclear whether or how any collaboration between the two companies might proceed. The exact status and terms of Cognition’s reported new funding round at a $40 billion-plus valuation have not been finalized or confirmed by the company.
Analysis
The episode underscores how consolidation pressure in AI coding tools has intensified since SpaceX closed its Cursor deal. Whether or not a Cognition acquisition was ever seriously pursued, the reported approach — and the speed of the denial — reflects how closely Musk’s companies are now being watched for further moves into the AI coding market, a segment TechCrunch has described as one of the clearest ways to monetize AI technology, with Cursor and SpaceX having jointly released a new model, Grok 4.6, this month, according to TechCrunch.