American entrepreneur Elon Musk is in talks with some of the Middle East’s biggest investors to raise funds for his artificial intelligence startup xAI. The Financial Times reports this.
The cost of the project could reach $45 billion.
“xAI is in talks with new and existing investors to raise new funding, according to six people familiar with the talks… Musk has approached investors in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to back his artificial intelligence startup, according to three people. “He also spoke with current investors, including Sequoia Capital and Valor Equity Partners.” – write the post.
Investors were offered a potential valuation of $45 billion, nearly double the level of funding reached this summer, two sources said. This week, Musk spoke at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Saudi Arabia, where he raised the issue.
“This issue has been raised. These guys (Saudi Arabia. – EADaily) are always willing to talk about new investment opportunities and are building one of the few large-scale companies in the field of artificial intelligence, so it’s not surprising that they are talking about it, but I don’t think it is. “It’s very advanced,” said a source familiar with Musk’s negotiations with Saudi investors.
Additionally, Musk has approached Qatari investors, according to another source familiar with the negotiations.
“Oil-rich Gulf countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have expressed ambitions to become leading players in artificial intelligence, given their significant financial power and abundant energy resources,” the newspaper noted.
