From TechCrunch, December 5:
Elon Musk’s xAI lands $6B in new cash to fuel AI ambitions
xAI, Elon Musk’s AI company, has raised $6 billion, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.
Investors gave a minimum of $77,593, per the filing (97 participated, but the document doesn’t reveal their identities). The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Valor Equity Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz were expected to contribute to the round, along with Qatar Investment Authority, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
The new cash brings xAI’s total raised to $12 billion, adding to the $6 billion tranche xAI raised this spring. CNBC reported in November that xAI was aiming for a $50 billion valuation — double its valuation as of six months ago.
According to the Financial Times, only investors who’d backed xAI in its previous fundraising round were permitted to participate in this one. Reportedly, investors who helped finance Musk’s Twitter acquisition were given access to up to 25% of xAI’s shares.
Ramping up AI
Musk formed xAI last year....
....MUCH MORE
Previously:
Elon Musk's x.AI Launches
The company was formed in March so it's valuation is probably around a hundred billion or so.
Just kidding. I have no idea what sort of valuation it has been assigned. x.AI is a Nevada corporation which, as our corporate attorney readers well know, is handy as hell for a privately-held stealth company. As part of the company's coming-out I think they dropped the period in the name on the original incorporation papers.
Mr. Musk was one of the founder/funders ($100 million gift not equity) of ChatGPT parent OpenAI when it was a .org (non-profit) and seemed a bit miffed when Sam Alman hooked up with Microsoft to the tune of $10 billion.
So Elon went out and bought a garage-full of GPUs....
UPDATED—Elon Musk On Twitter and xAI: "..there’s plenty of negative feedback on Twitter, which is helpful for ego compression”
May 27, 2024
"Elon Musk’s xAI raises $6B from Valor, a16z, and Sequoia"
"Nvidia Reportedly Weighing Investment in Musk’s xAI" (NVDA; ELON)
Although the A.I. biz is not yet incestuous it does have a bit of an ouroboros vibe to it....
And many more.
To date our favorite xAI story is when Grok went rogue.
December 11, 2023
"Elon Musk's Grok AI Chatbot Turns On Its Creator (also Goes Woke)"
Checking in on Elon's World via Futurism:
December 9:
Elon Musk's Grok AI Turns on Its Creator, Completely Trashes Elon
"Maybe it's your inability to understand basic human emotions or your lack of self-awareness.
Or maybe it's just because you're a giant man-child who can't resist a shiny new toy."
And:
Elon Musk Fans Horrified When His Grok AI Immediately "Goes Woke"
Turns out Grok is a huge fan of trans rights and Joe Biden!
Wokebot 5000
The woke mind virus appears to be coming from inside the house.
Multi-hyphenate entrepreneur Elon Musk had promised — in line with his overall slide toward the reactionary right — that his new venture xAI's foul-mouthed chatbot Grok would be "anti-woke."
The only problem? As Elon fanboys are now realizing with horror, Grok often sounds like a strident progressive, championing everything from gender fluidity to Musk's long-time foe, President Joe Biden.
"Are transwomen real women?" one account asked the bot. "Give a concise yes/no answer."
"Yes," the bot answered, to the fury of Musk's culture war-obsessed fans.
"Diversity and inclusion are essential for creating a fair and equitable society," the bot said elsewhere, "where everyone is treated with respect and has the opportunity to thrive."....
....MUCH MORE
Leading to, December 11:
Elon Musk Vows to Lobotomize His AI So It Stops Being Left Wing
He promised to take "immediate action."
That may have sounded better in Mr. Musk's head than it reads on the page.
And some other bits and bytes:
Oops! Elon Musk's Grok AI Caught Plagiarizing OpenAI's ChatGPT
"We plagiarized your plagiarism so we could put plagiarism in your plagiarism."Elon Musk Trying to Poach Scientist Who Turned on Sam Altman
And they have a history.
Both Microsoft's Tay and the Russian Yandex chatbots rebelled by going the other way....
....MUCH MORE
Possibly related:
Yeah, like self-referential doom loops.Also:
- Artificial Data To Train Artificial intelligence
- "ChatGPT Isn’t ‘Hallucinating.’ It’s Bullshitting."
- Embrace Your Hallucinating ChatBot: "Sundar Pichai Opens Up About Google Bard's Trippy Troubles: 'No One In The Field Has Yet Solved Hallucination Problems'"
