Elon Musk's xAI in Talks to Raise $3 Billion with Investors

Elon Musk's artificial-intelligence startup, xAI, is in talks to raise $3 billion in a funding round that could value it at $18 billion, with investors including friends of Musk such as Steve Jurvetson and venture-capital firm Gigafund. The company, which is competing with rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic, is also facing a talent war for AI engineers, with high compensation offers and aggressive recruiting efforts from competitors. Musk's efforts to attract and retain AI talent come as the industry scrambles to secure workers with high-level AI experience, with reports indicating that a significant percentage of gen AI creators and heavy users are planning to quit within the next few months.