xAI: Elon Musk launches new AI company – unites powerhouses from OpenAI, Google, Microsoft

Elon Musk has made his entry into the artificial intelligence (AI) space by launching his own AI company yesterday (July 12). According to its website, the company, called xAI, seeks “to understand the true nature of the universe”.

xAI is headed by Musk, and its team members comprise those that have worked in big AI firms, including OpenAI, Google Research, Microsoft Research, and DeepMind. The team is advised by Dan Hendrycks, a researcher for the Center for AI Safety, a non-profit that warns against the risks associated with AI.

Dan also initiated the open letter to global leaders in June that urged for the suspension of powerful AI systems due to the profound risks they pose to humanity.

Additionally, the company will be run separately from Musk’s other business entities but the technology developed by xAI would benefit those businesses, including Twitter and Tesla.

News about xAI first surfaced back in April, along with reports that Musk had purchased thousands of high-powered graphic processing units (GPUs) and sought funding from SpaceX and Tesla investors.

That same month, the billionaire also shared that he was working on new AI tool called “TruthGPT”, a “maximum truth-seeking AI” that “understands the universe and is the best path to safety” in order to rival ChatGPT. 

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