SpaceX, the private space company founded by Elon Musk, is making a significant financial commitment to his artificial intelligence startup, xAI. The company is investing $2 billion into xAI, marking one of the largest financial investments SpaceX has ever made in another firm.
The news of this substantial investment was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, indicating the scale and significance of the partnership between SpaceX and xAI. This investment is part of a larger $5 billion equity raise for xAI, with Morgan Stanley leading the funding round. According to investors familiar with the matter, this is SpaceX’s first known investment in xAI. The AI startup recently merged with X, Musk’s social media platform, in a deal that valued the combined entity at $113 billion.
Elon Musk has strategically leveraged his various companies to support the growth of xAI. Grok, the AI technology developed by xAI, is now integrated into X and powers support functions for SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service. Tesla has also started integrating Grok into its new vehicles, with Musk hinting at its future use in Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus.
The $2 billion investment highlights Musk’s vision to position xAI as a formidable competitor to other AI firms like OpenAI. The recent launch of Grok 4, touted as the “world’s smartest artificial intelligence” by Musk, has received high benchmarking scores and praise from AI-benchmarking firms like Artificial Analysis.
SpaceX, known for its conservative approach to external investments, typically focuses on its core business of space exploration and satellite technologies. However, Musk has utilized SpaceX’s resources to support his other ventures, including Tesla and The Boring Company. The investment in xAI underscores Musk’s belief in the potential of artificial intelligence and its impact on various industries.
In a recent statement, Musk expressed interest in Tesla potentially investing in xAI, pending board and shareholder approval. This collaboration between SpaceX and xAI represents a significant step towards advancing AI technology and its applications across different sectors.
The original article can be found on Teslarati’s website.