券商中国·2025-07-13 04:39Core Viewpoint - Elon Musk's SpaceX has agreed to invest $2 billion in his AI startup xAI, intensifying the competition in the AI sector among tech giants [2][3]. Investment and Valuation - SpaceX's investment represents nearly half of xAI's recent $5 billion equity financing, marking it as one of the largest external investments for SpaceX [3]. - Following the merger of xAI and X, the company's valuation reached $113 billion, with future potential to integrate its Grok chatbot into Tesla's Optimus robot [4]. - xAI is preparing for another funding round that could elevate its valuation to between $170 billion and $200 billion, a tenfold increase from its valuation at the beginning of last year [6][7]. AI Competition Landscape - The AI competition among major tech companies has intensified, with Meta, Google, and Microsoft making significant acquisitions to expand their AI capabilities [13][21]. - Meta has completed the acquisition of AI voice startup PlayAI, while Google acquired key talent and assets from AI programming startup Windsurf for approximately $2.4 billion [14][18]. - The aggressive acquisition strategies reflect a broader trend among tech giants to secure core technologies and talent in the AI field [21]. Talent Acquisition - Meta's recruitment efforts include hiring Ruoming Pang, a former Apple AI model lead, with a reported annual salary in the tens of millions, indicating the high stakes in attracting top AI talent [25][26]. - Other companies like Microsoft and Amazon have also been actively acquiring talent and technology from various AI startups to bolster their positions in the market [22].