Elon Musk has told banks advising on SpaceX’s planned initial public offering that they must subscribe to his artificial-intelligence chatbot, the New York Times reported on Friday, a requirement that some lead underwriters have already begun to meet, according to people familiar with the matter.
The NYT said several banks working on the offering have agreed to purchase Grok subscriptions and are integrating the chatbot into their internal systems, with some deals reportedly worth “tens of millions” of dollars a year. The purchases, if completed at that scale, would represent an unusual and costly condition attached to participation in what is shaping up to be the most ambitious IPO attempt in history.
Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup are serving as the active bookrunners on the deal, Reuters reported earlier this week. Representatives for SpaceX, Musk and the five banks did not immediately respond to requests for comment made to Reuters. The NYT attributed the information about the Grok requirement to people familiar with the matter.
The developments come as SpaceX has reportedly raised its target valuation for the offering to above $2 trillion — a mark that would make it one of the highest-valued listings ever — and is aiming to raise about $75 billion, according to Bloomberg and other news outlets. That fundraising target would eclipse previous record-setting IPOs such as Saudi Aramco’s in 2019 and Alibaba’s in 2014.
SpaceX, headquartered in Starbase, Texas, has been private since its founding but has hinted at public-market plans for parts of the business in recent years. The company’s ambitions for a colossal offering underscore why banks competing for roles on the transaction may be willing to acquiesce to nontraditional demands from its founder. The reported integration of Grok into banks’ IT environments suggests these institutions see operational value in the chatbot beyond merely satisfying a client request.
Industry observers say the scope and cost of the subscriptions — if confirmed — would add another layer to an already complex underwriting process. Underwriting a potential $75 billion capital raise for a company targeting a valuation above $2 trillion would already involve extensive risk analysis, regulatory work and investor marketing; the added requirement to buy and embed an AI product is atypical for lead banks.
The NYT report is the latest sign of how closely Musk’s various ventures are intersecting with traditional finance as he brings SpaceX toward a potential public listing. How widely banks adopt Grok, and whether subscription agreements become a formal condition for participating in the deal, remains unclear. The full structure and timetable for any SpaceX IPO have not been finalized publicly, and details could shift as underwriters and regulators weigh next steps.