--- title: "Elon Musk Looking for $6 Billion to Develop AI Outside Tesla" description: "Elon Musk's new AI venture xAI is attempting to raise up to $6 million in funding, the Financial Times reports." date: "2024-01-02" modified: "2024-01-26" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-looking-for-6-billion-to-develop-ai-outside-tesla" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Tesla" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "ai chatbots" - "elon musk" - "grok" - "the digest" - "xai" --- # Elon Musk Looking for $6 Billion to Develop AI Outside Tesla ![Elon Musk's new AI venture xAI is attempting to raise up to $6 million in funding, the Financial Times reports.]() *\Image: STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images\* ## Check Please Elon Musk's new AI venture xAI is attempting to raise up to $6 million in funding, the [*Financial Times* reports](), at a proposed valuation of $20 billion. That would put its value well short of OpenAI, which was recently estimated to be valued [at or above $100 billion](), but roughly [on par]() with OpenAI competitor Anthropic. According to the report, the company is hoping to raise money by talking to wealth fund managers in the Middle East and approaching offices in Hong Kong. But whether Musk's clout alone will be able to convince investors to join him remains to be seen. So far, xAI has released "Grok," a [foul-mouthed, dad joke-generating chatbot]() that was allegedly trained on tweets. Then there's the [current controversy]() over Musk angering investors by threatening to move AI projects away from Tesla, which could help explain his startup's latest round of funding. ## Investor Appetite The news comes after Musk denied a *Bloomberg* report that stated xAI had raised half of a [$1 billion round]() of funding last week. "This is simply not accurate," he [tweeted]() in response. A December [Securities and Exchange Commission filing]() made under the billionaire's name states that xAI had raised $135 million from four unnamed investors. Musk was also recently [accused of "blackmailing" Tesla investors]() after threatening to spin off AI projects from his EV maker unless he gets to control 25 percent of the company. "I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI & robotics without having about 25 percent voting control," he wrote in a [January 15 post](). "Enough to be influential, but not so much that I can’t be overturned." Meanwhile, the mercurial CEO has claimed his new startup is aiming to "[understand reality]()" and the "true nature of the universe." The company, which was founded in July, has used plenty of arguably meaningless and pseudo-philosophical language to sell investors on its premise. "What are the most fundamental unanswered questions?" [reads]() the official xAI account's first-ever tweet. The company's "Grok" chatbot has already wreaked havoc by first "[going woke]()," [turning on its creator](), and even [accusing]() him of going to court for pedophilia. Meanwhile, Musk has vowed to make the potty-mouthed assistant more "[anti-woke]()" and [take]() "immediate action to shift Grok closer to politically neutral." In short, are the company's chaotic efforts really enough to convince deep-pocketed investors? According to the *Financial Times*, xAI is "still testing investor appetite" with its current round of fundraising. **More on xAI:** *[Elon Musk Seeking $1 Billion for His Potty-Mouthed AI]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()