--- title: "Elon Musk Launches AI Company, Promises to Unlock Secrets of Reality" description: "Elon Musk has launched a new AI company. Called xAI, Musk says it was formed \"to understand reality\" — whatever that may mean." date: "2023-07-12" modified: "2023-07-12" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison.md" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-ai-company-reality" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "ai" - "elon musk" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk Launches AI Company, Promises to Unlock Secrets of Reality ![Elon Musk has launched a new AI company. Called xAI, Musk says it was formed "to understand reality" — whatever that may mean.]() *PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of Twitter, Elon Musk attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre on June 16, 2023 in Paris, France. Elon Musk is visiting Paris for the VivaTech show where he gives a conference in front of 4,000 technology enthusiasts. He also took the opportunity to meet Bernard Arnaud, CEO of LVMH and the French President. Emmanuel Macron, who has already met Elon Musk twice in recent months, hopes to convince him to set up a Tesla battery factory in France, his pioneer company in electric cars. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images) \Image: Getty Images\* ## xAI Years after leaving OpenAI on what was [rumored]() to be poor terms, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has officially launched a new AI company. It's called xAI, and Musk says it was formed "to understand reality." Yes, he really said that. And no, as far as we can tell, it doesn't mean anything. "Announcing formation of @xAI to understand reality," Musk tweeted earlier today, announcing the firm. Setting the bar as reasonably as ever, we see. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1679164661869182976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1679164661869182976%7Ctwgr%5E0686bd57809969afdc3db41003a426c72daa51f1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F2023%2F7%2F12%2F23792553%2Felon-musk-xai-artificial-intelligence-company ## Galaxy Brain The new venture's website offered little in the way of any clarification. "Today we announce the formation of xAI," reads xAI's landing page. "The goal of xAI is to understand the true nature of the universe." The site then went on to list who's involved in the project, a lineup that, [per]()*[ The Verg]()e*, includes researchers from DeepMind, Google Research, Microsoft, and other AI leaders. It also caveats that the AI outfit is a "separate company from X Corp" — the newer, [Musk-minted name]() of the company formerly known as Twitter, Inc. — although it will "work closely with X (Twitter), Tesla, and other companies to make progress towards our mission." As far as that "mission" of unlocking the secrets of our universe goes, however, there's no further explanation to be found. But that said, there maybe be some extra clues buried — where else — in Twitter replies. "What are the most fundamental unanswered questions?" [reads]() the official xAI account's first-ever tweet, to which Musk responded with a similarly freshman-year-philosophy-requirement-level question. "And what are the most fundamental unknown questions?" the billionaire [pondered](). "Once you know the right question to ask, the answer is often the easy part, as my hero, Douglas Adams, would say." Musk completed the tweet with a screenshot showing that the numbers that make up the venture's launch date, 7-12-23, add up to the [number 42]() — a [shoutout]() to the aforementioned Adams' beloved novel, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." ## Elon Smokes To be fair, Musk did tell Tucker Carlson back in April that he planned to make a "[maximum truth-seeking AI]()," so it's not *terribly* surprising to see xAI, grand promises about reality-cracking and all, go to launch. "An AI that cares about understanding the universe is unlikely to annihilate humans," Musk told the [since-fired]() former *Fox News* host at the time, "because we are an interesting part of the universe." Still, the project generally has the energy of the [Elon Smokes]() meme. But, hey, there are a lot of bright minds involved — maybe, just maybe, they'll finally solve reality, or whatever it is they're trying to do. **More on Elon and AI:** [*Elon Musk Says He's Building a "Maximum Truth-Seeking AI"*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()