The team behind xAI is made up of individuals who have previously worked at well-known organizations such as DeepMind, OpenAI, Google Research, Microsoft Research, Twitter, and Tesla; It has participated in projects such as DeepMind’s AlphaCode and OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 chatbots. Musk appears to be positioning xAI as a potential competitor to companies like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, which are responsible for ChatGPT, Bard, and Claude models.
The existence of the startup was first reported by A financial times reported in April. The article also mentioned that Musk has acquired a large number of GPUs from Nvidia, potentially powering a large language model.. In the same month, Musk talked about his plans for a new artificial intelligence tool called “TruthGPT” during an interview with Fox News. He expressed concern that today’s AI companies are prioritizing “politically correct” systems.
Dan Hendricks, executive director of the San Francisco-based nonprofit Center for Artificial Intelligence Security, will be one of xAI’s advisors. In May, the center published a letter signed by technology leaders, including Musk, that stressed the need to address the risks of AI. But the letter drew criticism from some academics and ethicists, who say an overemphasis on the future dangers of AI distracts from the real damage some algorithms are doing now.
xAI co-founder Greg Yang said that the startup is delving into so-called “deep learning mathematics”, a key aspect of artificial intelligence, and aims to develop a comprehensive theory of large neural networks to take AI to the next level.
Musk reportedly founded xAI in Nevada in March. Previously, Twitter temporarily changed its name to “X Corp” in some financial filings. However, xAI’s website makes it clear that it is separate from X Corp and confirms that it intends to work closely with X (Twitter), Tesla, and other companies to advance their mission.
Cover photo: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg via Getty Images
