Elon Musk’s xAI Secures $6B Backing in New Funding Round

On Sunday, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, announced that it has successfully raised $6 billion in a recent funding round, marking one of the biggest deals within the rapidly growing field. This substantial influx of capital strengthens the position of the company to vigorously compete with rivals such as OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google in the swiftly evolving landscape.

In a blog post, xAI disclosed a list of investors supporting its Series B funding, which includes Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, and Kingdom Holding.

The startup stated that the funds will be allocated toward launching its initial products, constructing advanced infrastructure, and expediting research and development efforts for future technologies.

In a post on X, Musk said, “There will be more to announce in the coming weeks.”

Musk is among the pioneers and prominent figures in the AI space. Leading Tesla, a company at the forefront of electric vehicles and self-driving technologies, he has a firm footing in the industry. Additionally, Musk has been an early investor in OpenAI, putting down tens of millions of dollars into the startup. However, Musk’s enthusiasm for OpenAI has shrunk over time. In March, he initiated legal action against OpenAI and its co-founder Sam Altman, accusing them of deviating from their original mission and transforming into what he called a “closed-source de facto subsidiary” of Microsoft.

Musk founded xAI last year. In November, he introduced its chatbot Grok 1.0 model as a competitor to ChatGPT. Simultaneously, the company offered the model to Premium+ users on X, who pay $16 monthly. In April, xAI launched the upgraded Grok 1.5 model and extended access to the chatbot to Premium users on X.

Musk, who has openly criticized rival AI tools from companies like Google, has issued a call for AI developers to join his company. He is on the lookout for individuals who “believe in our mission of understanding the universe, which requires maximally rigorous pursuit of the truth, without regard to popularity or political correctness.”