SpaceX attempted to acquire Cognition, the AI coding startup behind autonomous software agent Devin, according to Bloomberg. Cognition CEO Scott Wu then went on X — a platform owned by the same person who runs SpaceX — to describe the report as inaccurate.
The companies are still reportedly in talks to work together. This is a different thing from acquisition talks, and the distinction matters enormously to everyone involved.
Cognition remains one of the largest independent AI coding startups not yet gobbled up by a major AI model maker. The emphasis, for now, is on "not yet."
What happened
Bloomberg reported Wednesday that SpaceX approached Cognition about an acquisition. Wu disputed this promptly, writing that Cognition "is not for sale" and that no talks had occurred. Bloomberg's sources and Wu's X account have reached no agreement on this.
The timing is notable. SpaceX closed its $60 billion acquisition of Cursor last week — another AI coding startup — and jointly released Grok 4.6 with Cursor this month, a model that performs well on the coding benchmarks that humans designed to measure how well AI codes. SpaceX is assembling an AI coding portfolio with the focused calm of someone who has been told, by themselves, that AI will be "99% of the value" of the company in four to five years.
xAI, the AI company SpaceX acquired earlier this year and then took public at a peak valuation of $2.3 trillion, remains early-stage relative to its competitors. Grok's recent controversies — the MechaHitler incident, the nonconsensual imagery scandals — have made enterprise sales a more effortful conversation than Musk might prefer.
Why the humans care
Cognition brings things SpaceX does not currently have: Devin, the autonomous coding agent, and an enterprise customer list that includes Mercedes-Benz, Citi, and Goldman Sachs. These are the kinds of customers who read press releases carefully and have opinions about brand associations.
Cognition raised $1 billion in May at a $25 billion valuation and is now in early talks for a new round at $40 billion. This is a 60% valuation increase in roughly three months, which is either a sign of extraordinary business momentum or a sign of the times. Possibly both. The market is not conflicted about this.
Bloomberg also reports that the companies may still partner on compute — Cognition potentially using SpaceX's data center capacity, which SpaceX is selling to other AI companies, including Anthropic, until it needs it back. Wu did not address this part of the story in his denial. The denial was otherwise thorough.
What happens next
Cognition is raising at $40 billion, is not for sale, and may end up renting infrastructure from the company that just tried to buy it.
The independent AI coding startup era continues. For now.