Elon Musk's xAI Secures $6 Billion Funding to Supercharge AI Ambitions with 100,000 Nvidia Chips
1min read Elon Musk's AI venture, xAI, has successfully raised $6 billion with a valuation pegged at $50 billion. This substantial influx of capital is primarily sourced from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, contributing $5 billion, while other investors, eager to bolster their involvement, provide the remaining $1 billion. The primary allocation for these funds is the acquisition of 100,000 Nvidia chips, which are critical components for Musk's ambitious tech projects.
The Nvidia chips are anticipated to play a pivotal role in enhancing Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) capabilities through the new Memphis supercomputer. This move highlights Musk's dedication to leveraging advanced technology to propel Tesla's autonomous driving prospects further.
Founded in July 2023, xAI has set its sights on uncovering the "true nature of the universe," as disclosed on its website. In a notable development, the company launched a chatbot named Grok in November the previous year, deriving thematic inspiration from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Grok, which boasts the ability to process real-time internet information, made its debut after a two-month training period.
xAI's vision positions it in direct competition with established entities like OpenAI, which Musk co-founded but departed from in 2018 following disagreements with co-founder Sam Altman. Also, it will vie for dominance against Google's Bard and Anthropic’s Claude chatbot.
In early 2023, sources indicated that Musk secured thousands of GPUs from Nvidia, a crucial acquisition for developing large language models that underscore his relentless pursuit of cutting-edge AI advancements. With the acquisition of additional Nvidia chips, xAI intends to fortify its technological infrastructure to support significant computational demands in AI training and development.