Saudi Arabian royalty and investment giant Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) have teamed up with Elon Musk again, this time investing in his new AI startup, xAI. KHC, led by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, is a significant entity on the Tadawul stock exchange and benefits from the support of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, the nation’s sovereign wealth fund. This partnership underscores Saudi Arabia’s growing interest in the AI sector.
The investment in $6 billion Series B funding round is timely, as the company’s valuation has soared to $24 billion after a successful funding round. Besides KHC and Prince Alwaleed, notable investors include venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Fidelity Management & Research Company.
xAI has made significant strides over the past year. From the announcement of the company in July 2023, to the release of Grok-1 on X in November, to the recent announcements of the improved Grok-1.5 model with long context capability, to Grok-1.5V with image understanding, xAI’s model capabilities have improved rapidly. With the open-source release of Grok-1, xAI has opened doors for advancements in various applications, optimizations, and extensions of the model.
xAI will continue on this steep trajectory of progress over the coming months, with multiple exciting technology updates and products soon to be announced. The funds from the round will be used to take xAI’s first products to market, build advanced infrastructure, and accelerate the research and development of future technologies.
