Musk denies fundraising as xAI eyes supercluster growth

Grok chatbot being trained on 230,000 GPUs, Musk confirms.

Elon Musk, xAI, Valor, funding round, Antonio Gracias

According to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, Elon Musk’s AI company xAI is reportedly working with Valor Equity Partners to raise to US$12 billion for expansion.

Valor, an investment firm founded by Antonio Gracias, a long-time associate of Musk, is in discussions with lenders to secure the capital.

Funds would be used to acquire a substantial number of Nvidia AI chips, which would then be leased to xAI to support a new large-scale data centre for training and running the Grok chatbot.

Neither Valor nor xAI provided comments in response to media enquiries. Some financial institutions involved in the talks have reportedly pushed for repayment within three years and are seeking to limit borrowing amounts to reduce risk exposure.

Developing and deploying advanced AI systems requires a vast investment in hardware, computational resources and specialist talent. Companies like OpenAI, Google and China-based DeepSeek compete intensely in this domain.

In a post on X, Musk confirmed that Grok is being trained using a supercluster with 230,000 GPUs, including 30,000 of Nvidia’s GB200 chips. Another supercluster will launch soon, beginning with 550,000 GB200 and GB300 chips.

Reports suggest xAI may spend around US$13 billion in 2025. Earlier in July, Financial Times reported that xAI was discussing raising funds in a deal potentially valuing the firm between US$170 billion and US$200 billion.

In response to those claims, Musk denied that fundraising was ongoing, stating: ‘We have plenty of capital.’

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