SpaceX

Type: company Last Updated: 2026-02-16 Status: Active Research Sessions: 1

Executive Summary

SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) is the world's dominant space launch provider with 82% market share of global commercial launches. In February 2026, SpaceX acquired xAI in a $1.25 trillion merger—the largest in history—and is planning a mid-2026 IPO potentially valued at $1.5 trillion. The company's primary revenue driver is Starlink satellite internet, which reached 10 million subscribers in early 2026.

Facts

Corporate Overview

• World's dominant space launch provider with 82% market share of global commercial launches (2025) — Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spacex-could-go-public-in-2026-what-does-that-mean-for-space-exploration/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Completed 167 launches in 2025, over 50% of global orbital launches — Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spacex-could-go-public-in-2026-what-does-that-mean-for-space-exploration/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Headquarters at Starbase, Texas — Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• 13,000 total employees — Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spacex-could-go-public-in-2026-what-does-that-mean-for-space-exploration/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Official name: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. — Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)

xAI Merger (February 2026)

• Acquired xAI on February 2, 2026 in all-stock transaction — Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/03/musk-xai-spacex-biggest-merger-ever.html (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Combined valuation: $1.25 trillion (SpaceX $1T, xAI $250B) — largest merger in history — Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/03/musk-xai-spacex-biggest-merger-ever.html (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• xAI structured as wholly owned subsidiary — Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/02/elon-musk-spacex-acquires-xai-data-centers-space-merger/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Goal: develop orbital data centers for AI computing — Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/02/elon-musk-spacex-acquires-xai-data-centers-space-merger/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Applied to FCC for 1 million satellite authorization for orbital data center — Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-02/elon-musk-s-spacex-said-to-combine-with-xai-ahead-of-mega-ipo (confidence: MEDIUM) (discovered: 2026-02-16)

IPO Plans

• IPO confirmed by Elon Musk in December 2025 — Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/02/spacex-ipo-musk-2026.html (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Expected timing: mid-2026 — Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/02/spacex-ipo-musk-2026.html (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Target valuation: up to $1.5 trillion — would be largest IPO ever — Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/02/spacex-ipo-musk-2026.html (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Planning to raise up to $50 billion — Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/03/musk-xai-spacex-biggest-merger-ever.html (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)

Starlink

• 10 million subscribers as of February 2026 — Source: https://www.tesery.com/blogs/news/starlink-surpasses-9-million-active-customers-weeks-after-hitting-8-million-milestone (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Projected 18.4 million subscribers by end of 2026 — Source: https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/01/31/why-2026-spacex-ipo-is-actually-all-about-starlink/ (confidence: MEDIUM) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Service in 150+ markets including 42 new countries/territories in 2025 — Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spacex-could-go-public-in-2026-what-does-that-mean-for-space-exploration/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Revenue ~$10B in 2025, projected $18.7B in 2026 — Source: https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/01/31/why-2026-spacex-ipo-is-actually-all-about-starlink/ (confidence: MEDIUM) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Starlink contributes 70-79% of total SpaceX revenue — Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spacex-could-go-public-in-2026-what-does-that-mean-for-space-exploration/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)

Products & Technology

• Falcon 9 family: 611 launches, 608 successes as of Feb 15, 2026 — Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Falcon_9_and_Falcon_Heavy_launches (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• First-stage boosters landed 300+ times, reflown 200+ times — Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spacex-could-go-public-in-2026-what-does-that-mean-for-space-exploration/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Starship: largest rocket ever, 100+ ton payload capacity — Source: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/01/starship-foundations-2026/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• 5 full-stack Starship test flights in 2025 — Source: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/01/starship-foundations-2026/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)

Financials

• Revenue ~$15.5 billion in 2025 (63% growth from 2023) — Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spacex-could-go-public-in-2026-what-does-that-mean-for-space-exploration/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Projected revenue $22-24 billion in 2026 — Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spacex-could-go-public-in-2026-what-does-that-mean-for-space-exploration/ (confidence: MEDIUM) (discovered: 2026-02-16)

Leadership

• Elon Musk - CEO and Chief Engineer — Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Gwynne Shotwell - President and COO, runs day-to-day operations — Source: https://www.crunchbase.com/person/gwynne-shotwell (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Kathy Lueders - Starbase General Manager — Source: https://payloadspace.com/spacex-leadership-map-out-the-future-of-the-starship-program/ (confidence: HIGH) (discovered: 2026-02-16)

Related Entities

• Elon Musk - CEO and Chief Engineer (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• xAI - Subsidiary (acquired Feb 2026) (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Tesla - Sister company under Musk (discovered: 2026-02-16)
• Starlink - Satellite internet division (discovered: 2026-02-16)

Sources

1. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spacex-could-go-public-in-2026-what-does-that-mean-for-space-exploration/ - Scientific American IPO analysis
2. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/03/musk-xai-spacex-biggest-merger-ever.html - CNBC merger coverage
3. https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/02/elon-musk-spacex-acquires-xai-data-centers-space-merger/ - TechCrunch xAI acquisition
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX - Wikipedia overview
5. https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/01/31/why-2026-spacex-ipo-is-actually-all-about-starlink/ - Motley Fool Starlink analysis
6. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/01/starship-foundations-2026/ - NASASpaceFlight Starship status

Research History

• 2026-02-16: Initial research covering corporate overview, xAI merger, IPO plans, Starlink, products, leadership (1 iteration, 12+ sources)