Musk raises $6 billion in latest round of funding for xAI

AI startup xAI, founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk last summer, raised $6 billion in Series-B funding, reaching a post-money valuation of $24 billion.

Funding in this round looks to bring the startup's "first products to market, build advanced infrastructure, and accelerate the research and development of future technologies," according to a company blog post on Sunday, with investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital and Saudi Arabian Prince Al Waleed bin Talal.

"There will be more to announce in the coming weeks," Musk said in another X post, in response to the announcement of the funding.

Musk's latest AI venture has launched Grok, a "supposedly edgier" version of OpenAI's ChatGPT, as described by The Verge. So far, the chatbot is only available to premium subscribers of X, formerly known as Twitter, which is also owned by the billionaire investor and entrepreneur.

According to its website, "Grok is designed to answer questions with a bit of wit and has a rebellious streak, so please don't use it if you hate humor!"

As the competition for AI supremacy intensifies, major tech companies are pouring billions of dollars into AI startups and projects by Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta.

Microsoft has further solidified its position in this landscape by forging a multi-billion-dollar partnership with OpenAI. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, reportedly seeks trillions more in funding to overhaul the global chip industry. However, Elon Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, has taken legal action against the company, alleging that it has strayed from its original mission to serve humanity's interests.

(With input from agencies)