(Oct 30): Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) startup xAI is seeking new funding at a roughly US$40 billion (RM175.12 billion) valuation, according to a person familiar with the matter, just months after a separate financing for the startup brought in US$6 billion. 

The funding discussions are early, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private information, and the details could still change or the talks could fall apart.

Musk’s xAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) earlier reported on the deal, citing people familiar with the talks. 

The company’s valuation was US$24 billion including dollars raised during its last funding round in May, meaning the latest deal would represent a substantial increase, vaulting it into the ranks of most valuable startups in the US. The money raised in the company’s new round would be added to its US$40 billion valuation, the WSJ reported. 

Early on Thursday, Musk explained during a virtual appearance at the the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh that his aim was to double xAI’s access to compute — the coveted resource that fuels AI. Musk has said that xAI’s facility in Memphis is already the largest such data centre. 

“We already have with xAI the most powerful training cluster in the world and we are about to double it,” Musk said.

Musk has sought to compete with OpenAI, the current AI leader, most recently valued at US$157 billion. Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, broke ranks with the startup and in recent years has criticised its approach to building AI. 

Uploaded by Tham Yek Lee