NEW YORK/ LONDON: US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would use his upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia to urge the leaders of Muslim countries to “fight hatred and extremism” while pursuing a peaceful future for their faith.
Speaking to the graduating class of the US Coast Guard Academy, Trump said he would seek new partners in the region because “we have to stop radical Islamic terrorism.”
Meanwhile, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) top brass has recommended that the military alliance join the international coalition fighting Daesh. The issue is top of the agenda at a NATO summit in Brussels next week, with Trump pushing the allies to take on a greater role in combating terrorism.
NATO Military Committee head Gen. Petr Pavel said that “there is a merit for NATO becoming a member of that coalition.” Pavel said armed forces chiefs agreed “that NATO can and should do more” to increase the capacity of Iraq and other countries fighting Daesh to better defend themselves.
“NATO members are all in the anti-Daesh coalition. The discussion now is — is NATO to become a member of that coalition,” Pavel said.
All 28 NATO member states are in the coalition as individual countries and the alliance has supplied AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) surveillance planes to help the coalition carry out operations but it has no combat role.
NATO’s role could include training local forces and helping to build militaries and institutions.
NATO countries do not want the alliance engaged in active combat against Daesh militants, even though all are individual members of the anti-Daesh coalition. Trump is scheduled to meet NATO leaders in Brussels next week.
Trump to urge Muslim leaders to fight extremism during Mideast trip
Trump to urge Muslim leaders to fight extremism during Mideast trip
SpaceX acquires xAI in record-setting deal as Musk looks to unify AI and space ambitions
- The deal is the biggest M&A transaction of all time
- Deal values xAI at $250 billion, SpaceX at $1 trillion
Elon Musk said on Monday that SpaceX has acquired his artificial-intelligence startup xAI in a record-setting deal that unifies Musk’s AI and space ambitions by combining the rocket-and-satellite company with the maker of the Grok chatbot. The deal, first reported by Reuters last week, represents one of the most ambitious tie-ups in the technology sector yet, combining a space-and-defense contractor with a fast-growing AI developer whose costs are largely driven by chips, data centers and energy. It could also bolster SpaceX’s data-center ambitions as Musk competes with rivals like Alphabet’s Google, Meta, Amazon-backed Anthropic and OpenAI in the AI sector.
The transaction values SpaceX at $1 trillion, and xAI at $250 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“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 the light of consciousness to the stars!” Musk said. The purchase of xAI sets a new record for the world’s largest M&A deal, a distinction held for more than 25 years when Vodafone bought Germany’s Mannesmann in a hostile takeover valued at $203 billion in 2000, according to data compiled by LSEG. The combined company of SpaceX and xAI is expected to price shares at about $527 each, another person familiar with the matter said. SpaceX was already the world’s most valuable privately held company, last valued at $800 billion in a recent insider share sale. XAI was last valued at $230 billion in November, according to the Wall Street Journal. The merger comes as the space company plans a blockbuster public offering this year that could value it at over $1.5 trillion, two people familiar with the matter said.
SpaceX, xAI and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The deal further consolidates Musk’s far-flung business empire and fortunes into a tighter, mutually reinforcing ecosystem – what some investors and analysts informally call the “Muskonomy” – which already includes Tesla, brain-chip maker Neuralink and tunnel firm the Boring Company. The world’s richest man has a history of merging his ventures together. Musk folded social media platform X into xAI through a share swap last year, giving the AI startup access to the platform’s data and distribution. In 2016, he used Tesla’s stock to buy his solar-energy company SolarCity.
The agreement could draw scrutiny from regulators and investors over governance, valuation and conflicts of interest given Musk’s overlapping leadership roles across multiple firms, as well as the potential movement of engineers, proprietary technology and contracts between entities.
SpaceX also holds billions of dollars in federal contracts with NASA, the Department of Defense and intelligence agencies, which all have some authority to review M&A transactions for national security and other risks.
