It was like any other recruiting event for a tech startup in San Francisco: free food and drink and live music composed using live code.
However, metal detector screenings, ID checks, and security guards were also required. Elon Musk hosted it at the original Mission District headquarters of OpenAI, which Musk cofounded before leaving after (reportedly) failing to take it over. And Musk was there to persuade people to join his newest startup, xAI.
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At around 8:30 PM, the AI-generated music ceased, and Musk ascended onto a table in a sectioned-off area, flanked by bodyguards, to speak to the room of engineers. He began talking about why he founded xAI and moved it into the same office where he had assisted in founding OpenAI nearly a decade earlier.
A look back at the complicated history of Musk and Altman below:
- Elon Musk’s xAI moves into OpenAI founding HQ.
- Among other claims, the new lawsuit adds that Musk cofounded OpenAI in 2015 and leased the AI startup’s first office.
- Musk subsequently left OpenAI and has become more outspoken about his criticism of the company he founded, which launched a rival startup called xAI last year.
- Billionaire Elon Musk is in a dash to outmaneuver OpenAI — and now the tech moguls are racing each other to upstage each other after the billionaire moved his own AI startup into the company’s old HQ.
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This comes amidst an escalating war of words between the Tesla CEO and the AI startup he cofounded in 2015.
A private xAI open house hosted on Tuesday was staged at the office on 3180 18th Street, commonly known as the Pioneer Building.
Does Elon Musk own part of OpenAI?
Elon Musk was also a co-founder of OpenAI in 2015 but currently has no stake or control. In 2018, Musk resigned from the board of OpenAI. They reportedly distanced themselves from the organization, allegedly due to differences in open governance of the organization, when compared to the probable conflicts in other ventures that seem like side detours by Elon Musk, including the AI development arm of Tesla. As a result, OpenAI became a for-profit company, and Elon Musk has no connection to the company.
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What does Elon Musk have to say about the future of AI?
Elon Musk has not hesitated to express his fear and concerns regarding the future of artificial intelligence. He believes AI can bring profound advancement, but at the same time, if not regulated, it may pose a significant danger. According to him, unchecked development in AI will be a massive threat to human survival.
He advocates proactive regulations and oversight of AI technology development to ensure safe development. In addition, Musk has also voiced his fears that the developments may rise above human cognition, bringing unappealing, further unforeseeable effects. At the same time, he deems AI to be a tool wherein, under due control, it can benefit society more than others in respects such as automation, healthcare, and space exploration. Through his ventures, for example, Tesla and Neuralink, Musk stayed interested in AI while taking caution and carefully thought about ethical concerns when making it.
Musk takes on OpenAI.
The battles between Musk and OpenAI have been becoming heated lately.
The billionaire labeled OpenAI “evil” in an X post on Wednesday. Hours after reports emerged, the company asked investors who had participated in the $6.6 billion funding round, which was mostly closed, not to finance OpenAI’s rival venture, xAI.
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Elon Musk’s xAI Recruitment Event
Organized by Musk, who cofounded OpenAI but later left due to internal disagreements, the event aimed to recruit talent for his new AI venture, xAI. The event also happened conveniently because it coincided with OpenAI’s Dev Day, which was happening across the city. CEO Sam Altman had addressed developers a few hours prior at that event. That had created rumors about OpenAI closing historic funding round-distracting from news of recent fundraising for Musk’s xAI.
At approximately 8:30 PM, the AI-composed music concluded, and Musk, flanked by bodyguards, stepped onto a table to address his audience. Addressing a room full of engineers, he declared that he founded xAI, and now he led the operation from the offices of OpenAI. “We want to create digital superintelligence as benign as possible,” Musk said, according to a partial recording. He asked the attendees to join xAI and work on state-of-the-art AI applications.
Musk vs. OpenAI: Relations in Shambles
Musk was expelled from OpenAI in 2018, and after that, the company relations between Musk and OpenAI got pretty tense. He even went to the extent of filing a lawsuit against the company and its CEO, Sam Altman, for ditching the core founding principles of the company.
Timeline of Tension Between Musk and OpenAI
- Musk cofounded OpenAI 2015 and leased the company’s first office in San Francisco’s Mission District.
- Musk stepped down as a member of OpenAI’s board in 2018, citing that the company’s path needed to be aligned.
- Musk would later go on to found xAI in 2022, making him directly compete with OpenAI in the AI space.
xAI Takes Over OpenAI’s Former Office
Musk’s xAI finally moved into the Pioneer Building at 3180 18th Street, formerly Open AI’s office. Sources close to the event cite Musk as confirming that he is indeed moving to run xAI from that refurbished space. Initially leased by Musk for OpenAI, the office is now becoming his headquarters for this new AI startup.
Even earlier this year, OpenAI vacated the Pioneer Building, and Musk promptly subleased the office space for xAI’s expanding operations.
