The Owner of X, a generative artificial intelligence company, asserts to have successfully raised $135 million.
X.AI, Elon Musk’s AI startup, has filed with the SEC to secure up to $1 billion in an equity offering. The company has received approximately $135 million from four investors, with the first sale occurring on Nov. 29. X.AI, announced by Musk in July, aims to understand the universe. Recently, they introduced a chatbot named Grok, inspired by “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” with real-time internet knowledge.
“Grok is designed to respond to questions with a touch of humor and a rebellious attitude, so if you’re not a fan of jokes, it might not be the right fit for you!” mentioned X.AI on its website. They also highlighted, “It’s not afraid to tackle bold questions that many other AI systems might shy away from.”
The company did not respond promptly to a comment request.
With Grok, X.AI aims to compete directly with companies like OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, which Elon Musk helped start. However, he left the project in 2018 after a disagreement with co-founder Sam Altman. Grok will also face competition from Google’s Bard technology and Anthropic’s Claude chatbot.
Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left after three years. Recently, Microsoft invested $10 billion in OpenAI, and Google committed $2 billion to Anthropic, a startup founded by former OpenAI executives. Major Silicon Valley companies, including Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, are investing billions to develop their own artificial intelligence products in-house.The team at X.AI includes individuals with experience from DeepMind, OpenAI, Google Research, Microsoft Research, Twitter, and Tesla. They’ve contributed to projects such as DeepMind’s AlphaCode and OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 chatbots, as evidenced by their LinkedIn profiles.
Earlier in the year, Musk reportedly acquired a significant number of high-powered graphics processing units (GPUs) from Nvidia. These chips are crucial for developing large language models.
Elon Musk founded XAI in July with the aim of exploring the true nature of the universe. Recently, the company unveiled its initial AI model, a witty chatbot named Grok. Grok was trained using data from X, a social media platform acquired by Musk for $44 billion a year ago. Grok will now be accessible to specific premium subscribers of X, who pay approximately $16 per month.
In the recent month, Musk stated that those investing in X (previously known as Twitter) would possess a 25% share in X.AI.
In the previous month, Musk stated that individuals investing in X would possess a 25 percent share in XAI.On website, X.AI mentions that we are a separate entity from X Corp. However, we plan to collaborate closely with X (Twitter), Tesla, and other companies to accomplish our mission,” as stated by X.AI.
He recently expressed the idea that AI could handle all tasks, potentially reducing the need for human jobs. However, he has also voiced concerns about the rapid development of AI and has joined others in advocating for a temporary pause in creating highly advanced AI systems.
Individuals at X.AI have backgrounds from DeepMind, OpenAI, Google Research, Microsoft Research, Twitter, and Tesla. They have contributed to various projects, including DeepMind’s AlphaCode and OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 chatbots, as evidenced by their LinkedIn profiles.”Some of the top AI experts were eager to join a startup, but they weren’t interested in working for a large, established company like Tesla,” he explained. “So, I decided it would be better to start a new company under my leadership rather than letting them go work elsewhere. That’s how X.AI came about.”
Elon Musk established a company named X.AI in Nevada in March, as per official filings.
OpenAI is currently seeking to raise funds, which comes in the aftermath of recent confusion within the company. There was an unexpected removal and subsequent swift return of the CEO, Sam Altman, but the specific reasons for these changes remain unclear.