Investment Spree into the artificial intelligence world shows no signs of slowing down or fading. Elon Musk linked xAI as the latest startup to tap the capital markets and become victorious. The startup has raised $6 billion in a funding round that gives it a valuation of about $18 billion. The fact that the startup is barely a year old and still able to raise such an amount affirms the strong interest in AI startups with tremendous potential and solid ties.
xAI Capital Raise
The $6 billion that xAI raised in the funding round will accelerate the development of AI-powered products. In addition, the startup intends to build advanced infrastructure and accelerate the development of other future technologies. Big names, including Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, led the funding round.
xAI joins a growing list of AI startups that have attracted billions of dollars in investments at premium valuation amid the AI frenzy. Last year alone, OpenAI attracted over $13 billion in assets. Anthropic is another startup that has been successful in the capital markets, having already attracted close to $4 billion in investments from Amazon.
Even as he calls for extreme caution, Elon Musk has been one of the biggest proponents of the artificial intelligence revolution. Last year, he severed ties with OpenAI, the parent company behind popular chatbot ChatGPT. Having withdrawn his support for OpenAI, concerned by the way it was being managed and operating, saw him launch rival startups to counter other tech giants.
Microsoft pumping billions into OpenAI has not gone well with the billionaire investor who feels the growing tech giants’ influence in AI could pose significant risks down the line. Grok is one of the AI startups Musk has launched to rival OpenAI and other tech giants’ growing influence in the burgeoning sector. Grok has already been integrated into the social networking platform X.com, becoming one of the most significant xAI innovations.
China AI Catch-up
Meanwhile, Chinese artificial intelligence chipmakers are making impressive strides in catching up to global leaders in AI. For the longest time, the region, especially China, has been hit hard by trade controls from the US that prevent importing certain technologies and advanced AI accelerators.
Nevertheless, it’s becoming increasingly clear that China has the talent and data to compensate for lost time. According to SenseTime Group Inc.’s co-founder, Xu Bing, domestic chips are catching up quickly as local semiconductor companies expand their computing capabilities. Huawei is one of the companies that has succeeded in working around the US curbs to become a technology development champion.
China is one of many countries trying to play catch-up to the US and establish itself as an AI powerhouse. Across the Mediterranean, Malta is one country where schools, businesses, and the government increasingly adopt technology to address and solve the nation’s challenges.
In Malta, AI is being used to address the threat of climate change, the need to attract foreign investments, and the skills gap. For instance, the country’s leading telecom provider, GO, relies on technology to handle day-to-day tasks. AI tools account for about 20% of the company’s marketing content and 30% of written code. The company also uses the technology to draft legal contracts, pushing employees to learn and use it to be productive.
