xAI, a recently unveiled artificial intelligence (AI) company founded by Elon Musk, has made its debut with a new website that provides insights into its mission and team.
Musk, known for his involvement in innovative ventures such as Tesla and SpaceX, tweeted about xAI’s aim to “understand reality,” although he did not provide further details or explanations. The website states that xAI’s primary objective is to gain a profound understanding of the true nature of the universe.
Announcing formation of @xAI to understand reality
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2023
The team behind xAI is led by Elon Musk himself and comprises members with notable backgrounds in AI research and development. These individuals have previously worked at prominent organizations in the field, including OpenAI, Google Research, Microsoft Research, and DeepMind (which has recently become a part of Google). The team also includes professionals from academic institutions such as the University of Toronto.
In March, Elon Musk, along with Jared Birchall, who operates Musk’s family office, incorporated a business called X.AI, according to official records from the Secretary of State in Nevada. It was reported in April that Musk had been in discussions with investors from Tesla Inc. and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. regarding potential funding for an AI startup. Furthermore, Musk reportedly acquired a substantial number of processors from Nvidia Corp. for this new project.
The xAI website features a list of team members, including Igor Babuschkin, Manuel Kroiss, Yuhuai (Tony) Wu, Christian Szegedy, Jimmy Ba, Toby Pohlen, Ross Nordeen, Kyle Kosic, Greg Yang, Guodong Zhang, and Zihang Dai. Additionally, the company benefits from the guidance of Dan Hendrycks, a researcher who leads the Center for AI Safety, a nonprofit organization dedicated to mitigating societal-scale risks associated with AI.
The website also highlights xAI’s intention to collaborate closely with other companies, including Twitter (represented by “X”) and Tesla, in order to make progress towards its mission. Elon Musk has been vocal about his concerns regarding AI and has advocated for regulation in the field.
He was among the signatories of a letter in March that called for a temporary pause in training AIs more powerful than GPT-4 for a minimum of six months. Musk has also engaged with lawmakers to discuss the potential impact of AI.
Since its unveiling, Musk’s new AI company has garnered significant attention, gaining tens of thousands of followers on Twitter within a short period of time.
