Elon Musk’s firm, xAI, is reportedly in advanced talks to raise $15 billion in new equity – after the billionaire last week slammed a CNBC report about the funding round as “false.”
The deal would hike xAI’s valuation to $230 billion, people familiar with the plans told the Wall Street Journal.
That’s a strong jump from the $113 billion valuation that xAI disclosed after it acquired Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in March.
Asked for comment, xAI told The Post, “Legacy Media Lies,” in what appeared to be an automated response.
Musk’s wealth manager, Jared Birchall, shared the new fundraising terms with investors on Tuesday night, sources told the Journal.
The outlet reported that it could not be determined whether the new valuation reflects xAI’s worth before or after the $15 billion fundraising round.
Just last week, Musk blasted a CNBC report about the funding round as “false.”
The outlet claimed xAI had added $5 billion to a $10 billion round it had reported on two months ago, citing anonymous sources.
That $10 billion round valued the company at $200 billion, CNBC reported in September. Musk previously called that report wrong, too.
Musk’s AI startup, which was founded in July 2023, has raised billions of dollars as it races to build out massive data centers to compete with rivals like OpenAI.
In June, the firm raised $5 billion in equity and $5 billion in debt to help build out its planned Colossus supercomputer in Memphis, Tenn.
Musk’s space company, SpaceX, invested $2 billion as part of that funding round, according to the Journal.
It has sparked some controversies along the way, with environmentalists blasting xAI’s use of natural gas-burning turbines, arguing they worsen the surrounding area’s air quality.
Some critics have also accused his Grok chatbot and Grokipedia – Musk’s AI-powered alternative to Wikipedia – of bias, though others have praised the site for taking a more neutral stance than lefty Wikipedia.
Lately, Musk has been focused on integrating his many business ventures, pushing for Tesla to invest in xAI.
At a recent shareholder meeting, Tesla investors failed to approve a measure to allow the electric-vehicle maker to invest in xAI. It is now up to the board to decide whether Tesla should back xAI.
Some newer Tesla models feature xAI’s Grok chatbot in their “infotainment” systems. The AI firm, meanwhile, has purchased tens of millions of dollars worth of Tesla’s battery energy storage systems for use in its data centers.
Tesla investors recently passed Musk’s $1 trillion pay package after he threatened to leave if he didn’t get it.
It’s the largest pay plan on record and could make Musk, already the world’s richest person, the first trillionaire – though he will have to hit a series of ambitious goals over the next decade to earn the total sum.
