Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI raised $6 billion in its latest funding round, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
This round saw participation from 97 investors, each contributing a minimum of $77,593. Although the filing does not disclose all participants, xAI later confirmed that major players such as Andreessen Horowitz, Blackrock, Fidelity, Kingdom Holdings, Lightspeed, MGX, Morgan Stanley, OIA, QIA, Sequoia Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Nvidia, AMD and others were among the backers.
This new funding brings xAI’s total capital raised to $12 billion, following an additional $6 billion secured earlier this year.
Reports indicate that xAI is targeting a valuation of $50 billion, doubling its value in six months. Notably, only investors from xAI’s previous funding round were allowed to participate, and some who funded Musk’s acquisition of Twitter were reportedly offered up to 25% of xAI’s shares.
Expanding Grok’s Role
Founded last year, xAI has made strides in the AI field, primarily with its flagship generative AI model, Grok. The model is deeply integrated into X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, powering features such as a chatbot accessible to X Premium subscribers and some free users.
Musk has touted Grok as a system capable of answering unconventional questions and producing bold answers, comparing it to other AI models that he criticizes for being too “politically correct.”
While Musk presents Grok as being “maximally truth-seeking,” the model has drawn attention for its inconsistencies, including occasional biases in its responses.
Nonetheless, Grok’s capabilities have expanded, including generating and analyzing images through its integration with Flux, as well as summarizing trending news and events.
Reports suggest that Grok may soon improve more features on X, including search functionality, post analytics, and user profile insights.
To expand its reach, the platform launched an API in October, allowing businesses to integrate Grok into third-party applications. The company also recently demonstrated a standalone iOS app to a test audience, signaling its ambition to compete with leading players like OpenAI and Anthropic in the generative AI space.
Legal challenges and competitive position
xAI’s journey has not been without controversy. Musk’s legal team has accused OpenAI and Microsoft of anticompetitive practices, alleging they discouraged investors from supporting the platform and unfairly took advantage of their close partnership.
The lawsuit also highlights Musk’s prior role in the creation of OpenAI and his subsequent criticism of its move away from its nonprofit origins.
Musk maintains that X’s data gives xAI a unique advantage despite these challenges. With this in mind, X recently updated its privacy policy to allow third parties, including xAI, to train AI models using the platform’s posts.
As xAI accelerates its efforts to establish itself in the competitive AI space, the new funding will likely fuel the development and integration of its technologies, cementing its place as a key player in Musk’s broader vision for AI and its applications.
This post first appeared on Technological crisis.
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Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI raised $6 billion in its latest funding round, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
This round saw participation from 97 investors, each contributing a minimum of $77,593. Although the filing does not disclose all participants, xAI later confirmed that major players such as Andreessen Horowitz, Blackrock, Fidelity, Kingdom Holdings, Lightspeed, MGX, Morgan Stanley, OIA, QIA, Sequoia Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Nvidia, AMD and others were among the backers.
This new funding brings xAI’s total capital raised to $12 billion, following an additional $6 billion secured earlier this year.
Reports indicate that xAI is targeting a valuation of $50 billion, doubling its value in six months. Notably, only investors from xAI’s previous funding round were allowed to participate, and some who funded Musk’s acquisition of Twitter were reportedly offered up to 25% of xAI’s shares.
Expanding Grok’s Role
Founded last year, xAI has made strides in the AI field, primarily with its flagship generative AI model, Grok. The model is deeply integrated into X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, powering features such as a chatbot accessible to X Premium subscribers and some free users.
Musk has touted Grok as a system capable of answering unconventional questions and producing bold answers, comparing it to other AI models that he criticizes for being too “politically correct.”
While Musk presents Grok as being “maximally truth-seeking,” the model has drawn attention for its inconsistencies, including occasional biases in its responses.
Nonetheless, Grok’s capabilities have expanded, including generating and analyzing images through its integration with Flux, as well as summarizing trending news and events.
Reports suggest that Grok may soon improve more features on X, including search functionality, post analytics, and user profile insights.
To expand its reach, the platform launched an API in October, allowing businesses to integrate Grok into third-party applications. The company also recently demonstrated a standalone iOS app to a test audience, signaling its ambition to compete with leading players like OpenAI and Anthropic in the generative AI space.
Legal challenges and competitive position
xAI’s journey has not been without controversy. Musk’s legal team has accused OpenAI and Microsoft of anticompetitive practices, alleging they discouraged investors from supporting the platform and unfairly took advantage of their close partnership.
The lawsuit also highlights Musk’s prior role in the creation of OpenAI and his subsequent criticism of its move away from its nonprofit origins.
Musk maintains that X’s data gives xAI a unique advantage despite these challenges. With this in mind, X recently updated its privacy policy to allow third parties, including xAI, to train AI models using the platform’s posts.
As xAI accelerates its efforts to establish itself in the competitive AI space, the new funding will likely fuel the development and integration of its technologies, cementing its place as a key player in Musk’s broader vision for AI and its applications.
This post first appeared on Technological crisis.
Don’t miss the important articles of the week. Subscribe to techbuild.africa weekly digst for updates
