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Elon Musk is escalating the artificial intelligence arms race against his former colleagues at OpenAI by amassing cash for his own AI startup.

The Tesla mogul’s firm xAI — which powers the snarky Grok chatbot — announced on Sunday that it raised $6 billion in a fresh round of fundraising — soliciting investments from venture capital giants such as Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, as well as Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal.

The firm had a pre-money valuation of $18 billion, Musk said on X, meaning the latest round will push the startup’s valuation to $24 billion.

Musk, who was one of the co-founders of OpenAI when it was a nonprofit but then left after losing a power struggle with management, launched xAI less than a year ago.

Earlier this month, The Post reported that xAI’s valuation was expected to eclipse $20 billion due to surging demand from venture capitalists.

The money will be used to take xAI’s first products to market, build advanced infrastructure and accelerate research and development of future technologies, xAI said.

“There will be more to announce in the coming weeks,” Musk said in another X post, in response to the announcement of the funding.

Microsoft-backed OpenAI saw its valuation rise to some $80 billion after the introduction of its AI-powered bot ChatGPT in late 2022.

In March of last year, Musk was one of thousands of tech luminaries who signed onto a letter urging a pause in AI research due to potential risks to humanity.

Musk has also criticized OpenAI for abandoning its nonprofit status. Last July, he launched xAI to challenge OpenAI.

The startup rolled out Grok, an AI bot that was trained on and integrated into X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Musk has touted Grok as a “non-woke” alternative to rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other learned language models.

In the blog posting which announced the funding, xAI said it was “primarily focused on the development of advanced AI systems that are truthful, competent, and maximally beneficial for all of humanity.”

Musk recently told investors xAI is planning to build a supercomputer to power the next version of Grok, The Information reported on Saturday citing a presentation to investors.

Musk said he wants to get the proposed supercomputer running by the fall of 2025, as per the report, adding that xAI could partner with Oracle to develop the massive computer.

The Post has sought comment from xAI and Oracle.

When completed, the connected groups of chips — Nvidias flagship H100 graphics processing units (GPUs) — would be at least four times the size of the biggest GPU clusters that exist today, The Information reported, quoting Musk from a presentation made to investors in May.

Nvidia’s H100 family of powerful GPUs dominate the data center chip market for AI but can be hard to obtain due to high demand.

Earlier this year, Musk said training the Grok 2 model took about 20,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs, adding that the Grok 3 model and beyond will require 100,000 Nvidia H100 chips.

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Second boat boarded by FBI after Baltimore bridge collapse

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Second boat boarded by FBI after Baltimore bridge collapse

FBI agents have boarded a boat managed by the same company whose cargo ship crashed into a Baltimore bridge and caused it to collapse.

The two companies in charge of the ship “recklessly cut corners” and ignored electrical problems on the vessel before the crash in March, alleged the US Justice Department on Wednesday.

Three days later, FBI agents boarded the Maersk Saltoro, a second ship managed by the same company, although authorities did not offer further details on the operation.

Six construction workers were killed when the Dali ship had a power outage and crashed into a support column on the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Read more: Could the Baltimore Bridge disaster happen again?

The Justice Department alleged that mechanical and electrical systems on the massive ship had been improvised and improperly maintained which led to the power outage.

The Singapore-flagged container ship 'Dali' after it collided with a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.
Pic:  Harford County MD Fire & EMS/Reuters
Image:
The Dali after it collided with a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Pic: Harford County MD Fire & EMS/Reuters

Authorities are seeking to recover more than $100 million the government spent to clear the underwater debris and reopen the city’s port, which was only fully reopened in June.

It could become the most expensive marine casualty case in history and the two Singapore-based companies, Synergy Marine Group and Grace Ocean, are trying to limit their legal liability.

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The Justice Department said it will vigorously contest that limitation, arguing that vessel owners and operators need to be “deterred from engaging in such reckless and exceedingly harmful behaviour”.

Darrell Wilson, a Grace Ocean spokesperson, confirmed that the FBI and Coast Guard boarded the Maersk Saltoro in the Port of Baltimore on Saturday morning.

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Mr Wilson has previously said the owner and manager “look forward to our day in court to set the record straight” about the Justice Department’s lawsuit.

The Dali, which was stuck amid the wreckage of the collapse for months before it could be extricated, departed Virginia on Thursday afternoon en route to China on its first international voyage since the March 26 disaster.

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2024 Cadillac LYRIQ buyers could score $10,500 in discounts

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2024 Cadillac LYRIQ buyers could score ,500 in discounts

The all-electric Cadillac LYRIQ was an Electrek favorite when it first made its debut two years ago. Now, LYRIQ buyers who have been waiting for a deal can score more than $10,500 in discounts on the Ultium-based Caddy.

Our own Seth Weintraub said that GM had come in, “a year early and dollar long at $60K” when he first drove the Ultium-based Cadillac LYRIQ back in 2022. He called the SUV “a stunner,” too, heaping praise on the LYRIQ’s styling inside and out before adding that the EV’s ride quality really impressed on long journeys.

Well, if the first mainstream electric Cadillac was a winner at its original, $57,195 starting price (rounded up to $60K for easy math), what could we call it at $10,500 less?

That’s a question that’s suddenly worth asking, thanks to huge GM discounts on the LYRIQ that prompted the automotive pricing analysts at CarsDirect to name the 2024 LYRIQ one of the industry’s “Best New Car Deals” this month:

A slew of incentives can enable you to save big on a 2024 Cadillac LYRIQ. First, EVs eligible for the federal tax credit qualify for $7,500 in Ultium Promise Bonus Cash from GM. Additionally, competing EV owners can score $3,000 in conquest cash.

Meghan Carbary | CarsDirect

With more than 100 kWh of battery capacity and 300-plus miles of real-world driving range (plus available 190 kW charging capability) the Cadillac LYRIQ ticks all the boxes – but you don’t have to take just my word for that.

You can check out Electrek‘s original First Drive video, below, and click here to find Cadillac LYRIQ deals near you.

First Drive: Cadillac LYRIQ | Luxury E-CUV

SOURCE | IMAGES: CarsDirect.

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Sports

Michigan star TE Loveland ruled out vs. Trojans

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Michigan star TE Loveland ruled out vs. Trojans

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan star tight end Colston Loveland has been ruled out of Saturday’s game against No. 11 USC with an undisclosed injury.

Loveland suffered an apparent shoulder injury in last weekend’s win over Arkansas State. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore hasn’t specified the nature of the injury.

A preseason All-American, Loveland leads the Wolverines with 19 catches for 187 yards; no other Michigan pass catcher has more than nine receptions.

The No. 18 Wolverines also changed starting quarterbacks this week, moving from Davis Warren to Alex Orji. Warren had thrown six interceptions in three games, including three last weekend. He threw two picks in a 31-12 loss to Texas on Sept. 7.

Orji has only seven career passing attempts but has rushed for 58 yards in a relief role this season.

Moore said this week that he wants to see Orji “take the reins” of the Michigan offense with his opportunity.

“Excited for him,” Moore said. “I know he’s chomping at the bit.”

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