Elon Musk’s startup xAI is now reportedly worth more than what the billionaire paid for Twitter
xAI’s valuation is said to have doubled since the spring.
Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, has reportedly been valued at $50 billion — $6 billion more than what he paid to acquire Twitter, the social-media platform now known as X.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the startup told investors it had raised $5 billion in a funding round at a valuation double what it was in the spring.
The new valuation means xAI has surpassed the $44 billion Musk paid for Twitter in October 2022. X was valued at $9.4 billion by Fidelity, one of its investors, in September. The firm, which invested $19.6 million in the platform, has written down the value of its investment by nearly 79% since 2022.
The Journal reported last month that xAI had been in talks to raise money at a valuation of $40 billion.
X has faced financial challenges since Musk took control of the company in 2022. The platform’s advertising revenue dropped after some major brands pulled their content, and the company has struggled to win back advertisers.
Representatives for xAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment made outside normal working hours.
Valor Equity Partners, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, are expected to participate in xAI’s fresh funding round, people familiar with the matter told The Journal.
This spring xAI raised a $6 billion Series B from A16z and Sequoia Capital at a $24 billion post-money valuation. The new round means the AI company has raised a total of $11 billion this year.
Musk founded xAI in 2023, partly to serve as an alternative to OpenAI, which the billionaire cofounded in 2015 alongside Sam Altman, its CEO. Musk parted ways with the company in 2019 and has been critical of its shift away from its nonprofit origins.
He sued the company this year, accusing OpenAI and Microsoft of creating an artificial-intelligence monopoly and engaging in “intensified” anticompetitive practices, citing “lavish compensation” offers as one example.
