Musk is actively seeking to raise funds for his artificial intelligence company xAI, with a target valuation of up to $45 billion, indicating investors' confidence in xAI and the field of artificial intelligence. The round of financing attracted investors from the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which have strong financial strength and are committed to taking a leading position in the field of artificial intelligence. The move also reflects Musk's strategy of actively repairing relations with Saudi Arabia and seeking diversified investment sources.
Musk is in financing negotiations with some of the Middle East's large investors, planning to raise funds for his artificial intelligence startup xAI, with a target valuation that may be close to $45 billion, almost double the company's valuation a year ago.
According to people familiar with the matter, xAI is in preliminary discussions with new and old investors to seek new funds to compete with OpenAI. OpenAI recently completed more than $10 billion in debt and equity financing, and Anthropic, as well as large tech companies such as Google and Meta, are also strong competitors.
Musk has reached out to investors in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to seek support. At the same time, he also communicated with current investors such as Sequoia Capital and Valor Equity Partners. Sources said the $45 billion valuation has been discussed with investors, a goal close to the valuation that it was when it raised this summer. Valor is expected to play a leading role in this financing, and Sequoia Capital may also participate, but these negotiations are still in their initial stages, with specific participants and valuations likely to change.
Musk's relationship with Saudi Arabia was worsened by his attempt to privatize Tesla in 2018, when his dispute with Saudi sovereign wealth funds attracted widespread attention. However, Musk has been working to restore relations with Saudi Arabia in recent years and spoke at the conference with Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative at its latest meeting. People familiar with the matter said that Musk mentioned the possibility of investment in xAI in his conversation with Saudi investors, and Saudi Arabia still attaches great importance to investment in artificial intelligence.
In addition, Musk also expressed financing needs to Qatar investors, whose sovereign wealth funds have helped him acquire Twitter in the past. Wealthy Gulf countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE all know that they all want to take a leadership position in the field of artificial intelligence, with rich financial resources and energy.
With OpenAI launching its popular chatbot ChatGPT in late 2022, AI startups have grown rapidly in funding. In the first half of this year, AI startups attracted more than 40% of U.S. venture capital. At the same time, startups that are building powerful language models are facing huge financial pressures and need to rely on wealthy investors, chip manufacturers and cloud service providers to meet the financial and technical requirements of training models.
Key points:
Musk negotiates financing with Middle Eastern investors, with a target valuation of $45 billion.
The target financing mainly includes investors in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, restoring relations with Saudi Arabia.
The financing boom of artificial intelligence startups continues, and the market is full of confidence in AI investment.
In short, xAI's huge financing plan highlights the popularity of investment in the field of artificial intelligence and the importance that investors in the Middle East pay for the development of artificial intelligence technology. This potential investment also indicates the future growth and growth of xAI and the competition with other giants is taking place.