Tech billionaire Elon Musk announced on Friday that his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, has merged with his social media platform, X, in an all-stock deal valued at $45 billion. The transaction places xAI’s worth at $80 billion and X at $33 billion.

Musk shared the news in a post on X, emphasizing the strategic integration of AI and social media. “xAI and X’s futures are intertwined,” he wrote. “This merger combines data, models, compute, distribution, and talent, unlocking immense potential.” X CEO Linda Yaccarino echoed the sentiment, stating, “The future could not be brighter.”

The deal, likely structured as a stock swap, involves shared investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management, Vy Capital, and Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Co.

Musk, who acquired Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 and later rebranded it as X, launched xAI less than two years ago to advance AI research and development. The company has been a direct competitor to OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Meta, with its AI chatbot, Grok, already integrated into X. xAI recently unveiled plans for a supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee, known as Colossus, though the project has drawn environmental concerns.

xAI was last valued at around $50 billion but was reportedly in talks to raise funding at a $75 billion valuation. In contrast, OpenAI was recently valued at $260 billion, while Anthropic closed a deal at $61.5 billion.

Beyond his business ventures, Musk has played a prominent role in U.S. politics, contributing nearly $300 million to Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign. He was later appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), focused on reducing government spending and regulations.

This is not Musk’s first high-profile merger. In 2016, Tesla acquired SolarCity for $2.6 billion, a move that faced shareholder lawsuits but was ultimately upheld in court.