Elon Musk's xAI has raised $6 billion in funding to accelerate AI infrastructure, product development and research in generative AI. EPA
Elon Musk's xAI has raised $6 billion in funding to accelerate AI infrastructure, product development and research in generative AI. EPA
Elon Musk's xAI has raised $6 billion in funding to accelerate AI infrastructure, product development and research in generative AI. EPA
Elon Musk's xAI has raised $6 billion in funding to accelerate AI infrastructure, product development and research in generative AI. EPA

Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding and Qatar's QIA among investors in $6bn funding for Musk's xAI


Aarti Nagraj
  • English
  • Arabic

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence start-up, xAI, has raised another $6 billion in its latest funding round, which includes participation from existing investor Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding, as well as the Qatar Investment Authority and Oman Investment Authority (OIA), among others.

The series C funding round comes after the AI company raised $6 billion from its series B round in May, in which Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and his investment company Kingdom Holding took part.

Other investors from the previous round, including Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Sequoia Capital and Fidelity Management & Research Company, along with A16Z, BlackRock, Lightspeed, MGX and Morgan Stanley, took part in the latest fundraise, xAI said on Monday.

Global chip majors Nvidia and AMD also participated and "continue to support xAI in rapidly scaling our infrastructure", the company said.

San Francisco-based xAI is the developer of the Grok generative AI chatbot, which is a rival to the likes of Google's Gemini and market leader OpenAI's ChatGPT.

"The funds from this financing round will be used to further accelerate our advanced infrastructure, ship groundbreaking products that will be used by billions of people, and accelerate the research and development of future technologies enabling the company’s mission to understand the true nature of the universe," xAI said.

Last week, Oman's sovereign wealth fund OIA also confirmed that it acquired a stake in xAI, although it did not reveal the size and value of the deal. The move will allow the sultanate to "invest in advanced technologies within various investment sectors", the Oman News Agency said at the time.

Mr Musk launched xAI in July last year amid the growing demand for generative AI to compete with dominant market player OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft. The Musk-led company released its Grok-1 generative AI platform in November the same year.

Grok is being positioned by the company as a “conversational AI for understanding the universe” – aligned with Mr Musk's mission statement when he announced in July last year that xAI was meant “to understand reality” and “the true nature of the universe”.

At the time of Grok-1's launch, Mr Musk also said that xAI would make Grok open source, doubling down on his offensive against ChatGPT maker OpenAI.

Since its previous round in May, xAI said it has established Colossus, the "world's largest AI supercomputer" using Nvidia chips, pushed out Grok 2, added Grok on X, and rolled out xAI API, which gives developers programmatic access to its foundation models.

Grok is only available to premium users of X. While xAI recently rolled out improvements to the platform, Mr Musk recently said on X that the upcoming new version, Grok 3, will be a "major leap forward".

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

Emergency phone numbers in the UAE

Estijaba – 8001717 –  number to call to request coronavirus testing

Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111

Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre

Emirates airline – 600555555

Etihad Airways – 600555666

Ambulance – 998

Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.

 

 

MATCH INFO

Barcelona 4 (Messi 23' pen, 45 1', 48', Busquets 85')

Celta Vigo 1 (Olaza 42')

MATCH INFO

Norwich City 0 Southampton 3 (Ings 49', Armstrong 54', Redmond 79')

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

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Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

Red flags
  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
  • Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
  • Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
  • Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
  • Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

Scoreline:

Manchester City 1

Jesus 4'

Brighton 0

Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?

The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.

A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.

Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.

The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.

When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.

The biog

Age: 59

From: Giza Governorate, Egypt

Family: A daughter, two sons and wife

Favourite tree: Ghaf

Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense 

Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”

Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut

Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”

EPL's youngest
  • Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
    15 years, 181 days old
  • Max Dowman (Arsenal)
    15 years, 235 days old
  • Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
    15 years, 271 days old
  • Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
    16 years, 30 days old
  • Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
    16 years, 68 days old
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
BMW%20M4%20Competition
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Company profile

Date started: December 24, 2018

Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer

Based: Dubai Media City

Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)

Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech

Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year

Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020

Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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JAPAN SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Updated: December 24, 2024, 1:27 PM`