A secretive technology investment group that is a top backer of Elon Musk’s companies will close to external investors, after racking up such big gains that it is no longer dependent on outside financing.

AI released two AI "companions" on its Grok platform, a Japanese anime girl named "Ani" and an animated red panda called "Rudi."

SpaceX has invested $2 billion in Elon Musk’s AI venture xAI, according to The Wall Street Journal. The investment makes up nearly half of the company's recent $5 billion equity round. The investment marks SpaceX’s first capital infusion into xAI and one of its largest into another firm,

In a familiar critique of corporate structures, Musk also weighed in on the ideal environment for fostering such long-term, existentially focused AI. He declared, “For long-term optimization, it is better to be a private than a public company, as the latter is punished for long-term optimization beyond the reward cycle of stock portfolio managers.”

With his rival out of the way, OpenAI’s CEO has a clear path to press for the company’s goals. He is leaving the Democratic Party.

One of the new “companions,” or AI characters for users to interact with, is a sexualized blonde anime bot called “Ani."

AI safety researchers from OpenAI and Anthropic are criticizing Elon Musk's xAI for "completely irresponsible" safety practices.

(Reuters) -Elon Musk's xAI is in talks to lease data center capacity in Saudi Arabia, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, as part of an effort to expand its infrastructure in regions offering cheap energy and political goodwill.