Reports are in that Elon Musk‘s AI company, xAI, has raised $6 billion, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.
As per the filing, each investor contributed at least $77,593, with 97 participants in total, though their names were not disclosed. Reports suggest key contributors to the funding round include Valor Equity Partners, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Qatar Investment Authority, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
The latest funding boosts xAI’s total capital raised to $12 billion, building on the $6 billion secured earlier this year. In November, it was reported that xAI is targeting a $50 billion valuation, a significant increase from six months ago when its valuation stood at half that amount.
The Financial Times also reported that only previous investors in xAI were allowed to take part in the latest fundraising round. Additionally, those who financed Musk’s Twitter acquisition were offered up to 25% of xAI’s shares.
A rebellious version of ChatGPT
Founded in 2023 by Elon Musk with a broader vision to shape the future of AI, xAI launched its first AI product in November last year and then the company introduced the Grok-1.5 model, which features enhanced long-context capabilities, as well as the Grok-1.5V model, designed for image recognition.
Grok, the generative AI model and a rival or one can say a more rebellious version of ChatGPT powers various features on X (formerly Twitter). These include a chatbot available to X Premium subscribers and free users in some regions. The goal is to integrate advanced AI tools into X’s ecosystem while enhancing user experience and safety.
Unlike competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic, which rely on partnerships with Microsoft and Amazon for computing resources, xAI is building its own supercomputing infrastructure. This independent approach places the company ahead in the race for AI hardware, although it has raised concerns over planning permissions and the local power grid.
The megadeals of AI
To mitigate these issues, xAI is using Tesla’s Megapack technology. While Grok, xAI’s generative AI model, has room to grow compared to models like ChatGPT, investors see its progress as a significant achievement for the company.
Meanwhile, Anthropic secured $4 billion from Amazon, raising its total funding to $13.7 billion. In comparison, OpenAI raised $6.6 billion in October, increasing its total to $17.9 billion. These funding rounds highlight the growing competition in the AI space as companies race to build more advanced systems and secure substantial financial backing.
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