What is Elon Musk's xAI? What to know about the new company with plans to build a Memphis supercomputer
It was announced this week that xAI is looking to build the "world's largest supercomputer" in Memphis.
The Greater Memphis Chamber made the announcement about Elon Musk's company on Wednesday. The project is pending approval by the Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee Valley Authority and other governing authorities, according to president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber, Ted Townsend.
Here is a look into the year-old company and what can be expected from it.
What is xAI by Elon Musk?
xAI, founded by Elon Musk, is a program aimed at developing artificial intelligence. The company, which started in July 2023, has already made waves in introducing its own AI program called Grok. The program, which is available to X premium users, has been on the social media site since December.
According to the website, the company's goal is "working on building artificial intelligence to accelerate human scientific discovery. We are guided by our mission to advance our collective understanding of the universe."
INSIDE LOOK How the Greater Memphis Chamber landed the Elon Musk, xAI project
In a tweet, Greg Yang, one of the co-founders said the company would work to "develop the 'theory of everything' for large neural networks" in order to take AI to the next level. His tweet also said the company will get into the mathematics of deep learning, which is an aspect of AI.
While Musk's new AI may not be the key to the universe, it is a billion dollar industry that he is investing in.
How much is xAI worth?
Earlier this year, Musk announced that xAI had raised $6 billion in funding from various capital venture firms like: Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital and Tribe Capital. This means the company is now worth a total of $24 billion, according to Reuters.
The money will be used to take xAI's first products to market, build advanced infrastructure and accelerate research and development of future technologies, the company said.
The funding should help Musk’s company develop artificial intelligence against Microsoft and Open AI, which created ChatGPT. Musk resigned from the OpenAI board in 2018 but remained a donor. In recent months, he has been a vocal critic of the company, calling it biased.
Elon Musk's thoughts on AI
The launch of xAI also comes as Musk makes mixed comments about the technology. The billionaire has said he believes AI will be key to Tesla's future, but he has also said that he worries artificial intelligence could "eliminate" or "constrain" humanity, and signed onto a letter calling for an industrywide halt to AI training for several months.
The company seems to be angling to compete with existing artificial intelligence companies including OpenAI, a company Musk helped found but has been increasingly critical of in recent months.
Musk also mentioned artificial intelligence during a keynote in Austin at EEI, where he called for more regulation and government oversight, and said he has been in contact with leaders on it.
What is the most powerful computer in the world?
Currently, the fastest computer in the world is housed in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Frontier at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is still the world's fastest as of June 2024. The 296-ton machine was built by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and chip manufacturer AMD and cost $600 million to make.
According to Musk, the new computer heading to Memphis is going to be the largest in the world. This means Tennessee would have two of the largest computers in the world within its borders.
USA TODAY contributed to this report
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Elon Musk's xAI? What to know about company and Memphis plans