Confusion Surrounds xAI's Reported $10 Billion Funding Round

Musk's XAI Raises $10 Billion at $200 Billion Valuation

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI has raised new funding at a $200 billion valuation, according to a person familiar with the deal, making it one of the world's most valuable startups. The over $10 billion round includes investment from Valor Capital, the Qatar Investment Authority and the Saudi Crown Prince via his Kingdom Holding Co., said the person, who asked not to be identified in order to discuss private business dealings. Bloomberg previously reported that xAI was raising money at a $200 billion valuation, and CNBC's David Faber first reported that a deal had closed.

xAI raises $10 billion at $200 billion valuation, CNBC reports

Sept 19 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's AI firm xAI has raised $10 billion at a $200 billion valuation, CNBC reported on Friday, citing sources. xAI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Morgan Stanley had in late June said that xAI had completed a $5 billion debt raise alongside a separate $5 billion strategic equity investment, as the startup looked to expand its AI infrastructure through data centers amid intense competition. Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shailesh Kuber Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Elon Musk's xAI raises $10 billion at $200 billion valuation: sources

Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, has raised $10 billion from investors that puts the company's post-money valuation at $200 billion, sources told CNBC's David Faber. The valuation for Musk's AI company is the latest example of skyrocketing valuations for companies that develop foundational AI models. Earlier this month, Anthropic raised $13 billion at a $183 billion valuation. OpenAI, the largest company in the industry, held a secondary share sale that valued it at $500 billion. The fundraising comes weeks after Musk raised $10 billion in debt and equity at what was believed to be a roughly $150 billion valuation, according to Faber. Last December, xAI raised $6 billion to fund its artificial intelligence development. However, xAI's Grok service is widely believed to lag behind Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI's GPT models in terms of capabilities and number of users. Musk said in May that he wants to buy a million AI chips, Faber said. Much of the proceeds of this round of funding could go to building data centers filled with Nvidia and AMD AI chips called GPUs that are needed to develop next-generation AI, as well as to hire expensive talent.

Elon Musk Refutes Claims Of xAI's $10 Billion Funding Round, Says 'xAI Is Not Raising Any Capital Right Now'

Enter your email to get Benzinga's ultimate morning update: The PreMarket Activity Newsletter Elon Musk has dismissed reports of his AI startup, xAI, raising $10 billion at a staggering $200 billion valuation. Musk labeled these reports as "fake news", asserting that xAI is not in the process of raising capital. Earlier on Friday, CNBC reported stating that AI firm, xAI, raising $10 billion at a post-money valuation of $200 billion. Refuting the news, Musk said on X, "Fake news. xAI is not raising any capital right now." CNBC's initial report suggested that the speculated funding would be utilized for building data centers with Nvidia (NVDA.O) and AMD (AMD.O) graphics processing units. These units are crucial for the development of next-generation AI and the recruitment of high-cost talent. Also Read: Elon Musk's xAI Hits Ex-Employee With Lawsuit Claiming Trade Secrets Ended Up At OpenAI xAI has been expanding its data center capacity to develop more advanced models, with the aim to compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude. Its supercomputer cluster in Memphis, Tennessee, known as Colossus, is regarded as the world's largest. The reported increase in xAI's valuation, if true, would have significant implications for the AI industry, potentially influencing investor sentiment and market dynamics. However, with Musk's denial, the focus shifts back to xAI's ongoing projects and its competition with other AI giants. Read Next Elon Musk's xAI To Simulate Software Giants Like Microsoft, Calling It 'Macrohard' Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Elon Musk Denies Report That xAI Is Raising Capital | PYMNTS.com

CNBC reported earlier Friday, citing unnamed sources, that the company was raising that amount at that valuation. When xAI acquired Musk's X March 30, Musk said the deal valued xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45 billion minus $12 billion in debt). "xAI and X's futures are intertwined," Musk said at the time. "Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent. This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI's advanced AI capability and expertise with X's massive reach." It was reported in June that xAI launched a $5 billion debt sale and a $300 million share sale and that the proceeds of the debt sale would be used for general corporate purposes. The share sale allowed staffers to sell their shares to new investors, and it valued xAI at $113 billion, according to the report. The report said Perplexity had raised money approximately once every two months over the past year, that its total funding exceeded $1 billion, and that it was valued at $14 billion in a funding round in March and at $18 billion in another one in July.

xAI: valuation reaches $200bn after raising funds.

The artificial intelligence company xAI, founded by Elon Musk, is finalizing a $10bn fundraising round based on a valuation of $200bn, according to CNBC. This operation is part of the strong upward trend in valuations in the generative AI sector. In early September, Anthropic raised $13bn at a valuation of $183bn, while OpenAI recently surpassed $500bn in a secondary sale. This funding round comes after several successive rounds. In December, xAI had already raised $6bn, then an additional $10bn in debt and equity in the spring, at a valuation of nearly $150bn. The company, which merged with social network X (formerly Twitter) in March, is engaged in a race to equip itself with infrastructure and plans to acquire one million Nvidia and AMD chips to power a giant computing cluster under construction in Memphis. Despite this financial trajectory, xAI remains under fire. Its Grok chatbot has been criticized for comments deemed anti-Semitic or conspiracy-theory-based, and is considered less effective than Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI's GPT models. These controversies contrast with Elon Musk's stated ambition, while Tesla has simultaneously submitted a new compensation plan for its CEO to its shareholders, which could reach $975bn.