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Elon Musk's xAI raises $20bn as Grok chatbot faces global scrutiny
Elon Musk’s xAI has raised around $20 billion through a Series F funding round
In a remarkable development, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) startup, xAI, has raised around $20 billion in its latest funding round, despite the company facing growing criticism over its Grok chatbot.
The fresh capital was secured through a Series F funding round that surpassed its original $15 billion target.
According to the company, investors in the round include Valor Equity Partners, Stepstone Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Qatar Investment Authority, MGX, and Baron Capital Group, alongside existing backers such as Nvidia and Cisco Investments.
The timing of the funding is significant. xAI’s chatbot, Grok, which operates on Musk-owned platform X (formerly Twitter), has drawn backlash for generating sexualised and non-consensual images.
Several reports have highlighted users prompting the tool to create inappropriate content involving women and underage girls, raising serious ethical and legal concerns.
The controversy has attracted regulatory attention. A UK government minister recently called on Musk to prevent Grok from producing such imagery, while British regulator Ofcom has made urgent contact with X.
Despite the criticism, xAI said the new funding will help expand its infrastructure, accelerate the rollout of AI products, and support research aligned with its mission of “understanding the universe.”