What is xAI, Elon Musk's new AI company, and will it succeed?

Its 12-strong team plans to "understand the true nature of the universe", according to an announcement posted on the xAI website. "I don't know what the deal with the Xs is," says Catherine Flick at De Montfort University, UK. "He obviously just likes Xs." It is an extension of Musk's longstanding interest in AI and his return to the field after pulling funding from OpenAI back in 2018. Musk had been the primary bankroller for the company – which created ChatGPT – at its launch in 2015, appearing on stage at an academic conference announcing $1 billion in funding. Musk reportedly withdrew from OpenAI after he bid to take over running it, worrying it had lost ground to Google in developing AI technology, and was rejected by co-founder Sam Altman.