From social media to super app, X’s evolution

Original author: KarenZ, Foresight News

X is rapidly transforming into a super application platform that integrates social media, finance, AI, etc.

On June 19, Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, said in an interview with the Financial Times that users will soon be able to invest and trade directly on X. X credit or debit cards are also being explored and may be launched this year. Previously, X has stated that it will launch a digital wallet and peer-to-peer payment service X Money later this year, and Visa will become its first partner. This news further ignited the outside worlds expectations and imagination of the prospects of X super application.

From Twitter to X: Musks vision for a super app

Looking back at the origin of this vision, in October 2022, Musk completed the acquisition of Twitter at a sky-high price of US$44 billion. This deal was considered one of the boldest bets in the history of technology at the time. Less than a year after the acquisition, in July 2023, Musk officially renamed Twitter to X. Behind this simple letter, he carries his grand vision of creating a super app.

It is worth mentioning that Musks relationship with X began in 1999 when he co-founded the online bank X.com. In 2000, X.com merged with Confinity, which developed the PayPal payment system. After the merger, the company was renamed PayPal and was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002, from which Musk made a profit of about $165 million. Since then, Musk has always had a special liking for X, believing that it represents infinite possibilities. In 2017, he repurchased the x.com domain name from PayPal, and then completed the name change and website replacement after acquiring Twitter.

Musks idea of a super app is not groundless. He hopes to build X into a comprehensive platform that integrates social, AI, payment, financial services and other functions. This vision stems from his early experience in founding PayPal and his in-depth research on the Asian super app model.

The pain of breaking out of the cocoon

However, there is a huge gap between ideal and reality. In the early days of the acquisition, the X platform experienced unprecedented turmoil: large-scale layoffs led to the loss of the technical team, the stability of the platform was once questioned, and the drastic changes in the content review policy caused concerns among users and advertisers, and advertising revenue fell sharply.

Musk said in September 2023 that Xs advertising revenue in the United States had shrunk by 60% since the acquisition. In October 2023, the New York Times revealed that X was valued at only $19 billion at the time, a 55% reduction from the acquisition price.

At the same time, although Musks paid subscription service X Premium brought a new source of income, it was far from enough to make up for the loss of advertising revenue. The platform is also burdened with $12 billion in debt incurred during the acquisition.

A ray of hope

After reorganization and diversified development, although X has not completely gotten rid of losses, it has made progress in adjusting algorithms, paid subscription models, AI, etc., and its financial losses have narrowed.

The big turning point came during the 2024 US election. Musks personal political inclinations, coupled with the X platforms huge ability to disseminate real-time news and information and engage in public discussion, quickly made the platform an important forum for public opinion in the election, and was seen by the outside world as the key driver of Trumps victory.

At the same time, this political influence brought unexpected commercial value to X. Not only did advertisers begin to return, but more importantly, X established its position as the worlds most influential real-time information platform. This influence is an important foundation for building financial services.

In addition, starting from November 2023, X gradually integrated Grok, from the initial grayscale test to opening to Premium+ subscribers and X Premium subscribers, and then to completely free opening to users. Later, it was integrated into X conversational answers, which strengthened the AI attributes of the X platform and drove Grok to become a key part of the X super application.

This month, X CEO Linda Yaccarino said in an interview with Yahoo Finance that the platform is undergoing a historic evolution, with 96% of advertisers returning and a large number of new advertisers pouring in. In addition, ePazarer predicts that as companies return to X and Musks influence increases, Xs global advertising revenue will grow 16.5% this year to $2.26 billion. If this goal is achieved, it will be the first advertising revenue growth since Musk took over X.

xAI Acquisition: A Dual Antidote of Technology and Capital

On March 29, 2025, Musk duyuruldu at X that xAI had acquired X in an all-stock transaction. The transaction valued xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45 billion minus $12 billion in debt). Musks decision to acquire X through xAI may seem like a left hand to right hand and also reduced Xs valuation (from $44 billion to $33 billion net worth), but it actually contains multiple strategic layouts. The $33 billion valuation may seem reduced, but under the AI-driven super application vision, Xs future value may be far beyond expectations.

The core of xAI is artificial intelligence research and development, while X has massive real-time user data and content distribution and dissemination capabilities. The acquisition will deeply integrate the technology and data resources of the two companies to form a synergistic effect of AI + social + finance.

In addition, through the acquisition of xAI, Xs debt pressure was transferred to the new entity xAI, optimizing the capital structure. Independently operated X had difficulty attracting investment due to financial difficulties, but after the merger, investors were more willing to pay for the combination story of AI + social media + finance. As a star company in the field of AI, xAIs valuation has increased from US$50 billion (2024) to US$80 billion, and it has stronger financing capabilities. According to the latest rapor from Reuters, from the establishment of xAI in 2023 to the launch of debt sales earlier this year, xAI raised US$14 billion through equity financing, demonstrating its appeal to the capital market.

Most importantly, Musks ultimate goal is to build X into a super application that integrates social, payment, investment and other functions. The acquisition of xAI provides technical and strategic support for this vision and accelerates the implementation of functions. For example, Grok can provide services such as smart investment advisors and risk assessment. This month, Xs cooperation with the prediction market platform Polymarket also shows its financial ecological ambitions. xAIs AI technology can further enhance the accuracy of the prediction market and attract more users to participate.

However, Bloomberg rapor edildi this week that Groks parent company xAI is facing financial pressure and is expected to spend about $13 billion in 2025. People familiar with the matter added that xAIs frequent financing activities can only barely cover the companys expenses. This means that xAI is burning more than $1 billion a month and almost all of its funds will be exhausted by the end of this month. However, the company is seeking to raise $9.3 billion in debt and equity financing. Musks goal for xAI is to achieve profitability by 2027.

X The future of super apps

With the upcoming launch of investment and trading functions, Xs super application blueprint is becoming clearer:

• All-round social platform – a center of information and interaction: using real-time news and social discussions to become one of the preferred information sources for investors.

• X Chat: X has launched X Chat Beta to some users, supporting encrypted messages, self-destructing messages, sending any type of files, and adding support for audio and video calls. This is a brand new architecture built on Rust with (Bitcoin-style) encryption.

• X Money financial services ecosystem: peer-to-peer payment, investment, trading, Grok smart investment advisor support, prediction market deep integration and credit/debit cards may also be included in this X Money. Visa is the first partner of X Money Account, which will allow X users to transfer funds between traditional bank accounts and digital wallets and make instant peer-to-peer payments. It is worth mentioning that X Payments LLC has been licensed in 43 states in the United States.

• AI-driven intelligent experience: Grok is integrated into X. Through deep integration with the X platform, users can obtain instant news, market dynamics or social media trends and analysis.

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If Xs super application functions (such as payment and investment) are successfully implemented, its user stickiness and revenue sources are expected to achieve a qualitative leap. However, it also faces challenges such as regulatory pressure.

X is at a critical crossroads. If successful, it will become the first true super app in the Western world, proving that Musks $44 billion bet is worth it. This will not only change the kesinliklenition of social media, but also reshape the landscape of financial services.

From Twitter to X, and then to the super app that will soon become one, Musk is proving that in the AI era, the boundaries between information, social interaction and finance are disappearing. And X may be the first successful case in this new era.

This article is sourced from the internet: From social media to super app, X’s evolution

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