"Elon Musk's New Venture: X.ai Corp. Takes on Artificial Intelligence Industry"

A recent corporate filing in Nevada indicates that Elon Musk may be considering starting an artificial intelligence company to compete with existing companies like Microsoft-backed OpenAI. The new company, called X.ai Corp, was registered in Nevada in March, with Musk listed as a director.

Web domains using the ".ai" suffix are popular among tech companies working on artificial intelligence projects. Musk is reportedly working to assemble a team and secure investors for the new venture, according to unnamed sources cited by the Financial Times.

Musk has recruited Igor Babuschkin, a scientist at Google-owned DeepMind, to lead the effort, according to The Wall Street Journal. Jared Birchall, who oversees Musk's ventures including tunneling firm The Boring Co. and neurotechnology start-up Neuralink, is also listed as a director of X.ai Corp in the Nevada filings.

Another business called Xai Inc. was established in Delaware on March 28, but the records did not identify any officers or directors. Efforts to access the X.ai website yielded an error, suggesting that there is currently no content hosted at the site.

Musk had helped found OpenAI in 2015 but left the company in 2018. In March 2022, he signed an open letter from academics, tech leaders, and others calling for a moratorium on the development of artificial intelligence.

X.ai Corp's registration in Nevada and Delaware, along with the hiring of AI scientist Igor Babuschkin and the involvement of Jared Birchall, suggest that Elon Musk is serious about starting an artificial intelligence company. The use of the ".ai" domain, which is popular with tech businesses pursuing AI projects, further supports this idea.

Musk's potential moves in this area were reported by the Financial Times, which cited anonymous sources familiar with his efforts to assemble a team for the venture and secure investors. The Nevada filings also indicate that Musk was involved with an open letter from academics and tech leaders calling for a moratorium on AI development.

X.ai was previously a scheduling service that used AI, but it was acquired by New York-based event-management company Bizzabo in 2021. The current state of X.ai Corp's website is unclear, but its registration and Musk's involvement suggest that the company may be pursuing AI projects that could rival those of Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Alphabet's Bard.

This is not the first time Musk has been involved in AI. He co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left the company in 2018. With the potential launch of X.ai Corp, Musk may be re-entering the AI field with a new approach and team.