Elon Musk has reportedly made a major move in the world of artificial intelligence (AI) by creating a new startup called X.AI Corp. The startup is set to directly compete with his former AI-focused venture, OpenAI, as well as Microsoft and Google. According to The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times, reported by someone familiar with the setup, a number of investors have put their money in the company, indicating a growing excitement.
Business records in the state of Nevada show that the company X.AI was established on March 9, with Musk as the sole director of the company. Elon’s move into AI follows the signing of an open letter published a few weeks ago along with other notable tech icons such as Microsoft co-founder Steve Wozniak, Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp, and Stability AI CEO Emad Mostaque. The letter called for companies to halt any technological developments related to AI systems stronger than OpenAI’s GPT-4 language model, and for an assessment of the impact of AI on society.
X.AI Corp might be related to this proposal as Musk has already bought 10,000 NVIDIA Graphics Processing Units for the venture. Additionally, the entrepreneur managed to hire some leading AI engineers from the academical field to work on the project. So far, it is unclear what Musk’s company is developing, however his entry in the AI market will surely make OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google compete.
Elon Musk is one of the most influential entrepreneurs of our era. He is the CEO and lead designer of SpaceX, a private aerospace manufacturing company, founder, CEO and Chief Designer of Tesla Inc., co-founder, CEO and CTO of Neuralink, a neurotechnology company, and of course, co-founder of OpenAI, an AI research firm. He is respected and admired by the public due to his commitment to innovative technologies and is often credited with the introduction of commercial space travel.
The open letter mentioned was addressed to major tech companies in order to protect the development of AI. The consequences of a “dangerous machine” are still unknown, but it can be assumed from the way the letter aims to control its capabilities. It is expected that with the launch of X.AI Corp, Musk is hoping for a more equitable and responsible approach to AI development which will benefit humanity on the whole.
