xAI is likely over, Elon Musk says it will just be SpaceXAI soon

It may be the end of the road for xAI, the AI startup co-founded by tech billionaire Elon Musk in 2023. Following a merger of xAI with SpaceX, Musk has revealed that the AI startup will no longer run as a separate company. But what does this mean for xAI’s AI products like Grok? Here is everything you need to know.

On X, Musk replied to a post regarding SpaceX’s new compute deal with Anthropic, which you can check out here. In the original post, the user had called it a “smart” deal for “SpaceX/xAI.” In his reply, Elon clarified the future of xAI. He wrote, “xAI will be dissolved as a separate company, so it will just be SpaceXAI, the AI products from SpaceX.” Do note that at the time of writing, there is no mention of "SpaceXAI" on the SpaceX website. Though it may change in the future.

What’s the story about xAI?

xAI was founded in 2023. At the time Musk said that the company will create a “pro-humanity” AI that was meant for “truth-seeking.” xAI has released several versions of its Grok AI model. Musk also planned to compete against OpenAI – a startup he helped create back in 2015 but left three years later – with xAI.

Grok is known to be less politically correct compared to other AI models. Do note that late last year, Musk and xAI found themselves under scrutiny after users on X used Grok to undress other users.

xAI also remains behind other AI players, including Anthropic, OpenAI, and even Google.

In recent months, xAI has witnessed some big name departures, including Tony Wu and Jimmy Ba. By April this year, 11 of the 12 co-founders had left xAI – Musk is the only one remaining.

Why is Elon Musk dissolving xAI?

Earlier this year, Elon Musk announced that xAI was merging with his aerospace firm, SpaceX, with the vision of setting up data centres in space. Musk is rumoured to be planning a $1.5 trillion IPO for SpaceX soon.

Since then, Musk had stated that he was rebuilding the AI startup, with plans to hire candidates who had previously not even received an opportunity for an interview.

However, it is likely that Musk wants to bring all AI products under the SpaceX umbrella for a simpler approach. SpaceX already has some of the world’s most powerful supercomputers in Colossus 1 – now leased to Anthropic – and Colossus 2. With plans of venturing into orbital data centres, and one of the largest IPOs in history, a streamlined SpaceX may be the better option for Musk.