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xAI burned $6.4B last year — SpaceX’s IPO filing shows why the spending is far from over

TechCrunch · Wednesday, May 20, 2026 · Category: Industry
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xAI burned $6.4B last year — SpaceX’s IPO filing shows why the spending is far from over

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence venture xAI reported operating losses of $6.4 billion against just $3.2 billion in revenue for 2025, according to SpaceX's recently filed IPO documents. The company's financial gap has widened considerably from 2024, when it posted losses of $1.56 billion on $2.62 billion in revenue. xAI had previously merged with social media platform X (formerly Twitter) before combining with SpaceX in February, and the combined entity is now seeking to go public this year with an estimated valuation of $1.75 trillion — potentially one of the largest public offerings in history. Revenue growth did occur, though it hasn't come close to keeping pace with spending. The $465 million generated from "AI solutions and infrastructure" drove much of the improvement, including $365 million from X and Grok subscriptions and $88 million from data licensing agreements. Advertising contributed an additional $116 million. Meanwhile, capital expenditures for the AI segment reached $7.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026 alone, putting the company on pace for approximately $30.8 billion in annualized AI spending — more than double the prior year's rate. User adoption of Grok remains modest despite the massive investment. SpaceX's filing shows 117 million monthly active users engaging with Grok AI features as of March 2026, out of 550 million total users across both Grok and X combined — meaning only about 20% of the combined platform ecosystem actively uses the AI tools. This contrasts sharply with competitor Anthropic, which reportedly anticipates $10.9 billion in second-quarter revenue representing a 130% jump, positioning it for its first operating profit. The company shows no signs of pulling back on its ambitions. SpaceX's filing outlines plans to scale Grok to "multiple trillions of parameters," describing it as a "step change in reasoning in depth and overall intelligence." The target marks the first detailed public documentation of xAI's financials following its merger and will now appear in SEC records — though achieving such a dramatic expansion will almost certainly require additional substantial investment beyond the already eye-watering sums already committed.

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