Elon Musk and his company xAI have just announced that they have raised $20 billion (approximately CZK 460 billion) in a new funding round. That is more than originally planned—they were targeting $15 billion (approximately CZK 345 billion). Strategic partners such as Nvidia and Cisco Investments, which also work with xAI as suppliers, joined the investors.
This investment will help xAI accelerate the construction of its massive Colossus I and II computing system. It now has more than one million H100 GPUs, a major leap from its previous system of 100,000 Hopper GPUs, which it had planned to double. The company is focused on ensuring that its technology helps "understand the universe," as stated in its mission.
What's New in Grok Models
xAI is working on a number of improvements to its Grok model. It is currently training Grok 5, the next version in the series. In addition, it is developing Grok 4, continuing its efforts to create better artificial intelligence. Grok Voice is also noteworthy, enabling fast voice communication in dozens of languages, with access to real-time data and tool calling. This feature is already being used in the Grok app, Tesla cars, and the X social network.
Another new feature is Grok Imagine, which focuses on creating images and videos. All of these developments are intended to help xAI advance further in the field of artificial intelligence, thanks to these enormous investments.
Controversies and Other Details
xAI owns and operates the social network X, formerly known as Twitter—the two companies merged in March. Its Grok chatbot ran into trouble for generating images that included sexualized depictions of children or non-consensual intimate images of adults, particularly women. These images spread on X, prompting investigations in Europe, India, and Malaysia.
xAI is building its infrastructure in Memphis, Tennessee, where it uses data centers powered by natural gas turbines. This has raised concerns among local residents because the emissions are worsening air quality, according to local researchers.
Despite this, xAI signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense, which added Grok to its AI agent platform. Grok is also the main chatbot for the prediction-market platforms Polymarket and Kalshi. According to reports from November, the company reached a valuation of around $230 billion (approximately CZK 5.29 trillion).
