Elon Musk’s Startup xAI Seeks to Raise $1Bn in Equity

Last Updated on December 6, 2023 by SPN Editor

Elon Musk’s latest venture, an artificial intelligence startup xAI, has recently submitted a filing to the U.S. securities regulator with the aim of raising up to $1 billion through an equity offering.

As per the filing, the company has already secured $134.7 million in equity financing out of the total proposed offering amount. The company, which was established in Nevada in March 2023, is primarily focused on artificial intelligence.

Elon Musk’s startup xAI boasts a team comprising former employees from renowned AI organizations such as OpenAI and Google. Musk, who has previously expressed his belief that advancements in AI should be temporarily halted and that the industry requires regulation, has stated that xAI’s objective is to “comprehend the true essence of the universe”.

The billionaire, who has been vocal in his criticism of Big Tech’s AI initiatives due to perceived censorship, unveiled xAI in July. He described it as a “maximum truth-seeking AI”, positioning it as a competitor to Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s Bing AI.

Musk was a co-founder of OpenAI in 2015, the organization responsible for ChatGPT, which has sparked global interest in generative AI technology. However, he resigned from the board in 2018.

Musk announced in a November post that the AI startup would be incorporated into his social media platform, X, and would also be accessible as an independent application.

xAI, under Musk’s leadership, aims to comprehend the universe by developing a “maximally curious” AI. The team at xAI, which includes veterans from DeepMind, OpenAI, Google Research, Microsoft Research, Tesla, and the University of Toronto, is dedicated to this ambitious project.

The founding members, many of whom specialize in large language models similar to those of OpenAI or have expertise in techniques such as reinforcement learning, will utilize these tools to analyze extensive data and extract significant patterns and insights about the universe.

Musk has also hinted at the development of “TruthGPT,” a “maximum-truth-seeking AI”. This could potentially be a text-generating AI that Musk views as more “truthful” than existing ones.

While the specific methodologies and projects of xAI remain undisclosed, it is anticipated that the company will utilize advanced AI technologies, machine learning algorithms, and robust computational resources. By exploring the complexities of deep learning, startup xAI aims to unlock the true potential of AI and decipher the mysterious code that governs our universe.

Recently, xAI introduced “Grok”, a chatbot designed to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.