Space Industry and Business News
TECH SPACE
Musk's xAI raises $20 bn in Nvidia-backed funding round

Musk's xAI raises $20 bn in Nvidia-backed funding round

by AFP Staff Writers
San Francisco, United States (AFP) Jan 6, 2026

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI announced Tuesday it has raised $20 billion in its latest funding round, surpassing its initial $15 billion target as the company accelerates development of its Grok AI models.

Founded by Musk, xAI competes in an increasingly crowded generative AI market against OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, among others.

The substantial funding round underscores continued investor appetite for AI ventures despite broader questions about achieving returns on the massive investments being made.

The oversubscribed round drew investment from Valor Equity Partners, Stepstone Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Qatar Investment Authority, MGX and Baron Capital Group, among others, the company said.

AI juggernaut Nvidia also participated and will support xAI's computing infrastructure expansion by supplying its highly prized AI chips and software.

The funding round came as Musk, who also owns the X social media platform, has been embroiled in controversy over the Grok AI tool.

Grok is facing a growing international backlash for allowing users to generate sexualized deepfakes of women and minors through a setting it calls Spicy Mode.

Announcing the funding round, xAI touted significant progress in 2025, including the deployment of what it claims are the world's largest AI supercomputers.

The company's Colossus I and II data centers in Memphis now house over one million high-performing GPUs, the AI chips from Nvidia that are supercharging AI development.

The startup has also rolled out its Grok 4 language models and Grok Voice, a real-time voice agent now available in Tesla vehicles.

According to xAI, its services reach approximately 600 million monthly active users across the X platform and Grok applications.

The company said it is currently training Grok 5 and plans to launch new consumer and enterprise products.

Related Links
Space Technology News - Applications and Research

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
TECH SPACE
Japan's SoftBank in $4bln AI deal to buy DigitalBridge
Tokyo (AFP) Dec 30, 2025
Japan's SoftBank said it is buying US data centre investor DigitalBridge in a deal worth around $4 billion, the latest acquisition in founder Masayoshi Son's push to become a major player in AI. The past year has seen colossal investments in infrastructure needed to provide the computing power for artificial intelligence (AI), while share prices in the sector - including SoftBank's - have ballooned. "SoftBank Group's mission is to realise Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) for the advancement ... read more

TECH SPACE
From music to mind reading: AI startups bet on earbuds

New tool narrows the search for ideal material structures

Nostalgia and new fans as Tamagotchi turns 30

Chlorine and hydrogen from waste brines without external power

TECH SPACE
Europe backs secure satellite communications with multibillion euro package

SpainSat NG programme completed as second secure communications satellite launches

New Laboratory Showcases Advanced Satcom Capabilities for Australian Defence Force

European Response to Escalating Space Security Crisis

TECH SPACE
TECH SPACE
When 5G networks bolster satellite navigation

LEO internet satellites bolster navigation where GPS is weak

Ancient 'animal GPS system' identified in magnetic fossils

Centimeter-level RTK positioning now available for IoT deployments

TECH SPACE
Fewer layovers, better-connected airports, more firm growth

Berlin says decision postponed on European fighter jet

Germany asked to help in Libyan army chief plane crash probe

Chinese leasing firm CALC orders 30 Airbus A320neo planes

TECH SPACE
Light driven neuron chip unifies sensing computing and memory

China launches anti-dumping probe into Japan chipmaking chemical

Nvidia unveils new AI chip platform amid rising competition

Tiny tech, big AI power: what are 2-nanometre chips?

TECH SPACE
New NASA Sensor Goes Hunting for Critical Minerals

Sentinel 6B begins sea level mapping campaign

Maintaining the Gold Standard: The Future of Landsat Calibration and Validation

China lofts Tianhui 7 geological survey satellite on Long March 4B

TECH SPACE
Corn cob biochar filters pull ammonia and micro and nanoplastics from water

Sunlight driven microplastic leaching reshapes dissolved pollution in water

French ban on 'forever chemicals' in cosmetics, clothing enters force; delays plastic cup ban 4 years

France pushes back plastic cup ban by four years

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.