This fundraising effort comes amid a competitive time for AI, with companies like OpenAI and Google launching their own chatbots. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left in 2018, launched the AI chatbot Grok under xAI in November. The new funding will support xAI's mission to "advance our collective understanding of the universe."
Key takeaways:
- Elon Musk is seeking to raise up to $1 billion for his AI startup xAI, as per an SEC filing.
- xAI has already raised close to $135 million in equity financing, and only investments worth at least $2 million will be accepted.
- Musk launched the AI chatbot Grok under the xAI umbrella in November, which is only accessible to those who pay for X and are accepted to the chatbot's early-access program.
- This is not Musk's first venture into AI, as he co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman in 2015, but left in 2018 after his offer to run the company was rejected.