X's Journey Towards Super Applications: The Evolution from Social Media to Super Applications

Written by: KarenZ, Foresight News

X is rapidly transforming into a super app platform that integrates social media, finance, AI, and more.

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

From Twitter to X: Musk's vision for a super app

Tracing the origins of this vision, in October 2022, Musk completed the acquisition of Twitter for an astonishing $44 billion, a deal that was considered one of the boldest bets in the history of technology at the time. Less than a year after the acquisition was completed, in July 2023, Musk officially renamed Twitter to X, and behind this simple letter lies his grand vision of creating a "super app."

It is worth mentioning that Musk's connection 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 profited about $165 million. Since then, Musk has had a special affection for "X," believing it represents infinite possibilities. In 2017, he repurchased the x.com domain from PayPal, and later completed the name change and website replacement after acquiring Twitter.

Elon Musk's vision for a super app is not unfounded. He hopes to build X into a comprehensive platform that integrates various functions such as social networking, AI, payments, and financial services. This vision stems from his early experience founding PayPal and his in-depth research into the Asian super app model.

The Pain of Breaking Out of the Cocoon

However, there is a huge gap between ideals and reality. At the beginning of the acquisition, the X platform experienced unprecedented turmoil: massive layoffs led to the loss of the technical team, the platform's stability was once questioned, the drastic changes in content review policies raised concerns among users and advertisers, and advertising revenue plummeted.

Musk said in September 2023 that Platform X's advertising revenue in the U.S. has shrunk by 60% since the acquisition deal. In October 2023, according to the New York Times, X was valued at just $19 billion at the time, down 55% from the purchase price.

At the same time, although Elon Musk's paid subscription service X Premium has brought in new sources of revenue, it is far from enough to make up for the loss of advertising revenue. The platform is also burdened with the $12 billion debt incurred during the acquisition.

The willows are dark and the flowers are bright.

After restructuring and diversification, X today has not yet completely eliminated its losses, but there has been progress in the layout of algorithm adjustments, paid subscription models, AI, etc., and financial losses have narrowed.

A major turning point appeared during the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Elon Musk's personal political leanings, combined with the tremendous ability of the X platform to disseminate real-time news and facilitate public discussions, quickly turned the platform into a significant arena for electoral opinion, viewed by outsiders as a "key driver" for Trump's victory.

At the same time, this political influence has brought unexpected commercial value to X. Not only have advertisers started to return, but more importantly, X has established its status as the world's most influential real-time information platform. This influence is precisely the important foundation for building financial services.

In addition, starting from November 2023, X will gradually integrate Grok, beginning with a grayscale test, followed by access for Premium+ subscribers and X Premium subscribers, and then eventually becoming fully free for all users. This will later enhance the AI capabilities of the X platform through the integration of X dialogue responses, making Grok a key component in driving X to become a super app.

This month, X CEO Linda Yaccarino stated in an interview with Yahoo Finance, "The platform is undergoing a historic evolution, with 96% of advertisers returning, and a large influx of new advertisers." Moreover, eMarketer predicts that as businesses return to X, and with the increase in Musk's influence, X's global advertising revenue will grow by 16.5% this year, reaching $2.26 billion. If this goal is achieved, it will be the first increase in advertising revenue since Musk took over X.

xAI Acquisition: A Dual Cure of Technology and Capital

On March 29, 2025, Musk announced at X that xAI had acquired X in an all-stock deal. The deal values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45 billion minus $12 billion in debt). Musk's decision to acquire X through xAI seems to be "left-handed to right-handed", which also lowers X's valuation (from 44 billion to 33 billion net value), but in fact, it contains multiple strategic layouts. The $33 billion valuation may seem "shrunk", but with the vision of AI-driven super apps, the future value of X may far exceed expectations.

The core of xAI is artificial intelligence research and development, while X possesses a massive amount of real-time user data and content distribution and dissemination capabilities. The acquisition will deeply integrate the technologies and data resources of both, forming a synergistic effect of "AI + social + finance."

In addition, through the acquisition of xAI, X's debt pressure was transferred to the new entity, xAI, optimizing the capital structure. X, which operates independently, struggled to attract investment due to its financial difficulties, and after the merger, investors are more willing to pay for the combined story of "AI + social media + finance". As a star in the AI space, xAI has increased its valuation from $50 billion (2024) to $80 billion, and has stronger financing capabilities. From its inception in 2023 to its launch of a debt sale earlier this year, xAI raised $14 billion through equity financing, demonstrating its capital market appeal, according to the latest Reuters report.

Most importantly, Musk's ultimate goal is to turn X into a super app that integrates social, payment, investment, and other functions. The acquisition of xAI provides technical and strategic support for this vision, accelerating the implementation of features. For example, Grok can offer intelligent investment advisory, risk assessment, and other services. This month, X's collaboration with the prediction market platform Polymarket also indicates its financial ecosystem ambitions. The AI technology of xAI can further enhance the accuracy of prediction markets, attracting more users to participate.

However, according to a report by Bloomberg this week, Grok's parent company xAI is facing financial pressure and is expected to spend about $13 billion by 2025. Insiders added that xAI's frequent fundraising activities barely cover the company's expenses. This means xAI is burning more than $1 billion a month, and nearly all of its funds will be depleted by the end of this month. However, the company is seeking to raise $9.3 billion through debt and equity financing. Musk's goal for xAI is to achieve profitability by 2027.

The future landscape of X super applications

With the imminent launch of investment trading features, the super app blueprint for X is becoming increasingly clear:

Omni-channel social platform - the center of information and interaction: become one of the preferred information sources for investors by leveraging real-time news and social discussions.

X Chat: X has rolled out the X Chat Beta feature to some users, supporting encrypted messages, message self-destruction, and the ability to send any type of file, with added support for audio and video calls. This is built on a new architecture with encryption (Bitcoin style) based on Rust.

X Money Financial Services Ecosystem: Peer-to-peer payments, investments, trading, powered by Grok intelligent advisory, with deep market integration and credit/debit cards potentially included in X Money. Visa is the first partner of X Money Account, allowing X users to transfer funds between traditional bank accounts and digital wallets, and make instant peer-to-peer payments. Notably, X Payments LLC has obtained licenses in 43 states in the United States.

AI-driven intelligent experience: Grok is integrated into X, enabling users to access real-time news, market trends, or social media trends and analysis through deep integration with the X platform.

Summary

If the super application functions of X (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 standing at a critical crossroads. If successful, it will become the first true super app in the Western world, proving that Musk's $44 billion bet is worth it. This will not only redefine social media but also reshape the landscape of financial services.

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