Elon Musk ignites AI race, seeking to raise $1B for xAI

Elon Musk, the driving force behind enterprises like Tesla and SpaceX, is reportedly seeking to secure a $1B investment for his latest AI venture, xAI - roughly equating to raising 1/44 of a Twitter.

• Recent Financings: As per a recent SEC filing, Musk has already garnered approximately $135M from four undisclosed investors, with the initial selling dating back to November 29. The goal is still far with about $865M remaining to reach the $1B target.

• New AI Player: xAI is currently developing an AI named Grok, conceived as Musk’s equivalent to AI products like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, or Anthropic’s Claude. The Grok product boasts a "rebellious streak," addressing "spicy" questions typically avoided by other AI programs.

• Grok is Near: Despite being in development for only two months, Grok is expected to roll out in beta format soon for X Premium+ subscribers.

• Effectiveness: One of Grok's distinguishing features is its ability to update its knowledge base in real-time with posts from X. However, the effectiveness of this feature will be contingent on its capacity to discern between legitimate news and misinformation.

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI, stepped away from the board in 2018. His criticism towards OpenAI has been on the rise, especially following the organization's recent management turmoil involving CEO Sam Altman.

While raising another $865M is a daunting task, Musk, being a tech titan, is presumably up to the challenge.