What Bloomberg reported about SpaceX and Cognition AI
On Wednesday, August 19, 2026, Bloomberg reported that Elon Musk's SpaceX attempted to acquire the AI coding startup Cognition. The report cites sources familiar with the matter. TechCrunch, which relayed the story, describes the move as SpaceX working to catch up to OpenAI, Anthropic and Google.
The claim is an attempt, not an agreement. TechCrunch wrote that neither SpaceX nor Cognition responded to its requests for comment.
"Elon Musk's SpaceX attempted to acquire AI coding startup Cognition as it works to catch up to OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google in the AI race, Bloomberg reported Wednesday , citing sources familiar with the matter."／"SpaceX and Cognition did not respond to requests for comment."— from TechCrunch's reportView official source →
Cognition CEO Scott Wu denies it: not for sale, no talks
Cognition's CEO answered on X at 19:53 UTC on the same day, rejecting the report, saying the company is not for sale and saying the two sides have not been talking. The post denies the first three rows of the table. The last two come from Bloomberg's second claim, which the denial leaves open.
Which points Scott Wu's post covers
| Point in the story | Scott Wu's post |
|---|---|
| SpaceX attempted to acquire Cognition | Denied |
| Cognition is for sale | Denied |
| The two companies have been in talks | Denied |
| The talks are no longer active | Not addressed |
| Cognition might use SpaceX compute | Not addressed |
"This is not true. Huge respect for the SpaceX team but Cognition is not for sale and we haven't been talking."— from Scott Wu's postView official source →
Musk's reply: talks only centered on Grok, Benzinga reports
Benzinga published a separate item whose headline says Elon Musk denied that SpaceX sought to buy Cognition and said the talks centered only on Grok. Wu's post, quoted above, does not mention Grok.
What the denial leaves open: a possible compute arrangement
Bloomberg's report contains a second claim: the deal talks are no longer active, but the companies are still discussing working together. One possible form is Cognition using SpaceX's computing capacity.
TechCrunch adds that SpaceX sells that capacity to other AI players such as Anthropic until SpaceX needs the capacity itself. TechCrunch says directly that Wu's post does not address this claim. The post denies a sale and denies talks, and it is silent on whether the talks have ended or whether a compute arrangement exists.
"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 the company is selling to other AI players like Anthropic until it needs that capacity for itself. Wu didn't address this specific claim in his denial."— from TechCrunch's reportView official source →
Why SpaceX would want Devin AI after the Cursor acquisition
SpaceX completed its $60 billion Cursor acquisition the week before the Cognition report, and The Next Web's headline counts five days between the two events. Cursor is the AI coding startup SpaceX bought, and Devin is Cognition's coding agent. The deal is covered in SpaceX Cursor Acquisition: Reading the Closing 8-K.
TechCrunch describes in one sentence what adding Cognition would have given SpaceX. Cognition and Devin, plus 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 and compete for enterprise customers.
"Adding Cognition and its coding agent 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 and compete for enterprise customers."／"The report comes a few days after SpaceX's $60 billion acquisition of Cursor, another AI coding startup, whose deal closed last week."— from TechCrunch's reportView official source →
Cognition AI valuation: $25B in May, $40B round in talks
Cognition raised a $1 billion round in late May at a $25 billion post-money valuation. Bloomberg reports that it is now in early talks for a new round at a $40 billion valuation. TechCrunch is the source for both figures.
"The company in late May raised a $1 billion round at a $25 billion post-money valuation, and Bloomberg reports it's now in early talks for a new round of funding at a $40 billion valuation."— from TechCrunch's reportView official source →
Windsurf, now Devin Desktop: Cognition's earlier deal
Cognition has made an acquisition before: its own blog has a post titled Cognition's acquisition of Windsurf. A Devin blog post titled Windsurf is now Devin Desktop shows the product has been renamed.
FAQ
- Did SpaceX buy Cognition?
- No acquisition has been reported. Bloomberg reported an attempt, and Cognition's CEO Scott Wu denied both the sale and the talks in a post on X the same day. Bloomberg also reported that the deal talks are no longer active.
- What exactly did Scott Wu deny?
- Wu denied the report itself, said Cognition is not for sale, and said the two companies have not been talking. TechCrunch notes that he did not address Bloomberg's claim about Cognition possibly using SpaceX's computing capacity.
- What is Cognition AI valued at?
- Cognition raised $1 billion in late May at a $25 billion post-money valuation. Bloomberg reports early talks for a new round at a $40 billion valuation.
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