As CNBC reports, Elon Musk’s xAI startup has attracted multibillion-dollar investments: the money will be used to purchase NVIDIA accelerators to expand the computing power of the AI supercomputer.
Let us recall that at the beginning of September this year, xAI launched the Colossus AI cluster with 100 thousand NVIDIA H100 accelerators. The platform uses Supermicro servers, All-Flash storage nodes, SuperNIC adapters, and life support systems. The supercomputer is located in a huge data center near Memphis (Tennessee).
As it has now become known, as part of the new round of financing, xAI will raise $6 billion. Of this, $5 billion will come from sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East, and another $1 from other investors whose names have not been disclosed. At the same time, the market value of the startup will reach $50 billion. The Financial Times also reports that xAI will receive additional funds for development. According to this newspaper, we are talking about $5 billion with the startup’s capitalization at $45 billion.
Image source: NVIDIA
Previously, Musk spoke about his intention to double the performance of Colossus: for this, in particular, it is planned to purchase approximately 100 thousand AI accelerators, including 50 thousand NVIDIA H200 products. Apparently, the startup will also use the raised funds to purchase other NVIDIA solutions, including Spectrum-X SN5600 switches and network cards based on BlueField-3.
Meanwhile, Memphis residents are expressing dissatisfaction with the development of the xAI AI complex. Activists, in particular, accuse the startup of the fact that the generators used on the territory of its data center worsen the air quality in the region.