Tesla CEO Elon Musk has embarked on a mission to found an artificial intelligence startup and apparently doesn’t want to be left behind in the race for development Generative AI systems.

What happened: Musk has assembled a team of AI researchers and engineers, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The billionaire entrepreneur has also secured thousands of powerful GPU processors Nvidia Corp. NVDA for its startup, the report added.

Musk also registered a company called X.AI on March 9, the publication reported, citing Nevada business records. The billionaire is listed as a director of the company, and Jared Birchall, who manages the Tesla CEO’s assets is listed as a secretary.

To fund his project, the tech entrepreneur has reportedly sought funding from investors for his SpaceX and Tesla companies.

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The rumored move raises eyebrows because Musk is one of the many signers of an open letter which has called for an immediate pause in AI research for at least six months. The letter argued that time was needed to study and mitigate the capabilities and threats of systems like GPT-4.

Why it matters: Musk was part of the team that co-founded OpenAI, which has taken the AI ​​space by storm with its large language model GPT and ChatGPT chatbot.

The Billionaire then severed the connection to OpenAIciting a conflict of interest with Tesla, which has its own AI team.

Continue reading: Elon Musk says we need a break in advanced AI development

Photo: NASA Kennedy via flickr