Elon Musk’s xAI raises $6B from Valor, a16z, and Sequoia
TechCrunchMAY 2024
Elon Musk's xAI Raises $6B, Now Valued at $24B
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The Spin
Narrative A
While Musk is an expert at building rockets and good at promoting free speech, the AI industry is not his forte. To succeed in the AI race, you must first understand the potential of the technology, which Musk clearly doesn't given he thinks AGI will be created by next year. The billionaire will also overwork his employees to achieve these unrealistic goals, which is why his hiring offers will likely fall on deaf ears.
Narrative B
Critics of Musk's AI endeavors clearly haven't seen his diverse record of success in the technology sector. In a unique fashion, Musk uses his several companies to complement each other, as shown by his SpaceX employees working with the Boring Company to build tunnels. Now, he's tapping into the rich information source of his social media company X to build AI that tries to understand and help humanity rather than control it.
Cynical narrative
The primary question here shouldn't be who raises the most money or who's more technologically savvy. It should be why are we allowing these companies — from OpenAI and Google to Anthropic and xAI — to continue their projects when their executives have all warned that AGI might destroy the world? This is an arena that needs extensive regulation and thought.