xAI joins SpaceX • Hacker News Board

Re: xAI joins SpaceX

#21

Post by andsoitis » Mon, Feb 02, 2026, 10:02 PM UTC

baggachipz wrote: post #3

Well surely this acquisition is above board. Nothing funny going on here, just good old business as usual.

> Well surely this acquisition is above board.

What makes you think it isn’t?

Re: xAI joins SpaceX

#22

Post by iancmceachern » Mon, Feb 02, 2026, 10:02 PM UTC

joshhart wrote: post #8

I thought this wasn't viable due to cooling requirements - how do you cool massive amounts of compute when the only option is to radiate it into space - nothing to convect it with? Also, the incredible amount of grift here with the left hand paying the right is scarcely believable. Same story as Tesla buying Solarcity. Board of directors should be ashamed IMO.

Yes. It is very cold up there but there is also no matter, or very little matter. So head conduction and convection don't work, it's all radiation. When we are learning to solve heat transfer problems in engineering school we are generally taught to neglect radiation, because it's effect on cooling the system is typically second or third order when compared to the to "big C's"

Re: xAI joins SpaceX

#23

Post by iancmceachern » Mon, Feb 02, 2026, 10:03 PM UTC

tapoxi wrote: post #16

Why?

These are no longer tech companies, to they are financial, and power, instruments of the billionaire class

Re: xAI joins SpaceX

#24

Post by 2001zhaozhao » Mon, Feb 02, 2026, 10:03 PM UTC

There is literally an emoji in the middle of the announcement post. Very on brand for Elon.

Re: xAI joins SpaceX

#25

Post by ecommerceguy » Mon, Feb 02, 2026, 10:03 PM UTC

Too me this smells of projected cash desperation. Do people actually pay for Grok?

Re: xAI joins SpaceX

#26

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Feb 02, 2026, 10:03 PM UTC

condensedcrab wrote: post #5

> SpaceX has acquired xAI to form the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth, with AI, rockets, space-based internet, direct-to-mobile device communications and the world’s foremost real-time information and free speech platform. This marks not just the next chapter, but the next book in SpaceX and xAI's mission: scaling to make a sentient sun to understand the Universe and extend…

[deleted]

Re: xAI joins SpaceX

#27

Post by s6i » Mon, Feb 02, 2026, 10:03 PM UTC

https://x.ai/news/xai-joins-spacex wrong link?

Re: xAI joins SpaceX

#28

Post by Saline9515 » Mon, Feb 02, 2026, 10:03 PM UTC

I still don't understand the "data center in space" narrative. How are they going to solve the cooling issue?

Re: xAI joins SpaceX

#29

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Feb 02, 2026, 10:03 PM UTC

abakus wrote: post #19

jsheard wrote: post #6

> Current advances in AI are dependent on large terrestrial data centers, which require immense amounts of power and cooling. You know what's even harder to cool? > Orbital Data Centers

Nobody knows cooling satellites better than SpaceX

[deleted]

Re: xAI joins SpaceX

#30

Post by booi » Mon, Feb 02, 2026, 10:04 PM UTC

Saline9515 wrote: post #28

I still don't understand the "data center in space" narrative. How are they going to solve the cooling issue?

that's the best part! They don't!