Daily Tech & GNSS News Digest - February 3, 2026

Elon Musk consolidates his empire as SpaceX and xAI merge in the largest deal ever at $1.25 trillion, while Palantir delivers explosive earnings that sent tech stocks rallying. Disney completes its long-awaited CEO succession, and in navigation news, Thales bets big on resilient positioning while SpaceX officially positions Starlink as a GPS alternative.

Tech News

SpaceX and xAI Merge in Record $1.25 Trillion Deal

Elon Musk has combined his rocket company SpaceX with AI startup xAI in the largest merger in history, valuing the combined entity at $1.25 trillion. The deal values SpaceX at $1 trillion and xAI at $250 billion, structured as a share exchange converting one xAI share into 0.1433 SpaceX shares.

Musk’s rationale centers on space-based AI infrastructure. “Global electricity demand for AI simply cannot be met with terrestrial solutions, even in the near term,” Musk wrote in a SpaceX blog post, adding that “space-based AI is obviously the only way to scale.” The merger comes ahead of a potential blockbuster IPO planned for mid-June 2026—timed to coincide with Musk’s birthday and a planetary alignment.

The combined company inherits SpaceX’s bitcoin holdings of approximately 8,300 BTC worth $650 million. The merger also provides crucial capital to xAI, which makes the Grok chatbot and has been burning through cash racing to build infrastructure against OpenAI and Anthropic.

Palantir Crushes Earnings with 70% Revenue Growth

Palantir delivered what analysts called “a stunning quarter,” reporting Q4 2025 revenue of $1.41 billion—beating expectations of $1.33 billion and representing 70% year-over-year growth, the company’s highest-ever growth rate. Shares surged on the news, fueling a broader tech rally.

The U.S. segment dominated with $1.076 billion in revenue, up 93% year over year. U.S. Commercial revenue reached $507 million (up 137%), while U.S. Government revenue hit $570 million (up 66%). The company ended the quarter with $7.2 billion in cash and short-term treasuries.

Full-year 2026 guidance crushed expectations at $7.18-7.20 billion, roughly $1 billion ahead of consensus and representing 61% growth. The US Navy also awarded Palantir a contract worth up to $448 million to modernize shipbuilding supply chains.

Disney Names Parks Chief Josh D’Amaro as Next CEO

Disney announced Josh D’Amaro, chairman of the Disney Experiences segment, as its next CEO following a years-long search that evaluated more than 100 candidates. The 28-year Disney veteran will take over from Bob Iger on March 18 at the company’s annual meeting, becoming the ninth CEO in Disney’s 100-plus year history.

D’Amaro, 54, is the second parks chief to ascend to the top job after Bob Chapek. His compensation package totals $38 million. Iger will transition to senior adviser and board member until his retirement on December 31, 2026.

Disney Chairman James Gorman, who led the succession committee, said “Josh is a standout executive. We looked all over the world.” Dana Walden was simultaneously named president and chief creative officer, reporting directly to D’Amaro with a $24 million package.

Additional Headlines

Chinese Tech Near Bear Market: An abrupt selloff pushed Chinese technology shares to the brink of a bear market—down 20% from October highs—amid concerns authorities may impose taxes on internet firms.
AI Data Center Debt Boom: More than $3 trillion is being invested in AI data center build-out, with even the largest tech companies unable to fund expansion from cash alone, spurring massive debt market activity.
PayPal and HP Tumble: PayPal and HP shares fell sharply due to leadership changes and Q4 profitability that missed expectations.
China Bans Electronic Door Handles: China will outlaw certain electronic car door handles starting next year following 2025 Tesla crashes where fires may have prevented electronic systems from opening doors.

GNSS News

Thales announced a €55 million ($63 million) investment to expand its industrial sites in Châtellerault and Valence, France, responding to surging demand for navigation systems resistant to jamming and spoofing. The investment, scheduled through 2028, aims to quadruple production capacity for inertial navigation systems at Châtellerault.

The Châtellerault facility, with six decades of laser gyroscope expertise, is the only European supplier equipping civil aircraft with inertial navigation. In Valence, mass production of TopStar-M GNSS receivers and TopShield anti-jamming systems will begin in 2026, alongside a new production line for inertial MEMS sensors.

Thales integrates its TopAxyz inertial navigation system with GNSS reception and anti-jamming technology to enable reliable navigation in contested environments. The expansion is supported by France’s Directorate General of Armaments under the OMEGA program (Operation for the Modernization of GNSS Equipment of the Armed Forces). Currently 800 employees work at the two sites, with plans to hire 150 additional staff by 2028.

SpaceX Pitches Starlink as GPS Alternative to FCC

SpaceX submitted formal comments to the FCC detailing how Starlink could serve as a GPS alternative, following the agency’s Notice of Inquiry on promoting resilient PNT (positioning, navigation, and timing) capabilities. The company claims Starlink terminals can already provide nanosecond-level timing accuracy and meter-level positioning.

Key technical advantages cited include the constellation’s thousands of LEO satellites providing global coverage with short signal travel times, phased-array user terminals with directional antennas for enhanced signal integrity, and end-to-end encryption making timing and positioning data resistant to spoofing.

SpaceX emphasized that Starlink satellites can operate independent of GPS—a capability that “not only allows those systems to operate unhindered even if GPS is unavailable, it also sets the foundation for future solutions that can use any authorized frequency to deliver accurate, reliable, and resilient PNT.” With Starlink surpassing 10,000 satellites in October 2025, the constellation has more satellites than all other LEO constellations combined. However, researchers note current Ku-band timing irregularities prevent accurate pseudorange-based PNT for now.

Key Takeaways

Musk’s Empire Consolidates: The SpaceX-xAI merger creates a $1.25 trillion vertical integration play from rockets to AI, with “orbital data centers” as the strategic rationale—positioning Musk’s empire for a potential mega-IPO.
Enterprise AI Demand Explodes: Palantir’s 70% revenue growth and crushed guidance reflects accelerating enterprise AI adoption, particularly among government customers modernizing critical infrastructure.
Navigation Sovereignty Intensifies: From Thales quadrupling inertial navigation production to SpaceX formally positioning Starlink as GPS backup, nations and companies are racing to reduce dependence on vulnerable satellite navigation.