Cognition CEO denies report that SpaceX tried to buy the startup

In short: Cognition’s CEO says SpaceX is not in talks to buy the AI coding startup, disputing a report that said the companies discussed a deal.

What happened

Bloomberg reported that SpaceX had attempted to acquire Cognition, a startup that makes AI tools for writing software. An acquisition is when one company buys another.

Soon after the report was published, Cognition CEO Scott Wu posted on X that the story was inaccurate. He wrote that Cognition “is not for sale,” and said SpaceX and Cognition have not been in talks.

The report arrived shortly after SpaceX closed a $60 billion acquisition of Cursor, another AI coding company, according to TechCrunch. AI coding tools are like a smart autocomplete for programmers (they suggest and write chunks of code), and they have become a major business area in AI.

TechCrunch also noted that Bloomberg said active deal talks are no longer happening, but the companies may still discuss working together. One possibility mentioned was Cognition using SpaceX computing capacity, meaning rented computer power, like renting extra engines when you need to haul a heavy load. Wu did not address that specific claim in his denial.

Cognition has been raising large amounts of money. TechCrunch reported the company raised $1 billion in late May at a $25 billion post-money valuation, and Bloomberg has reported early talks about funding at a $40 billion valuation.

Why it matters

This is another sign that big companies are shopping for AI tools that help write software, because those tools can save time and can be sold to large business customers. But for now, Cognition is publicly saying it plans to stay independent.

Source: TechCrunch AI