SpaceX to invest US$2 billion in Musk's xAI startup
The investment follows xAI's merger with X and values the combined company at US$113 billion, with the Grok chatbot now powering Starlink support and eyed for future integration into Tesla's Optimus robots, the report added.
In response to a post on X about whether Tesla, could also invest in xAI, Elon Musk said on Sunday (Jul 13), 'It would be great, but subject to board and shareholder approval,' without confirming or denying the Journal report on SpaceX's investment plans in xAI.
SpaceX, xAI and Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters could not immediately confirm the WSJ report.
Despite recent controversies involving Grok's responses, Musk has called it 'the smartest AI in the world,' and xAI continues to spend heavily on model training and infrastructure. REUTERS

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Straits Times
23 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Veteran diplomats and tech pioneer given honorary degrees by NUS
Find out what's new on ST website and app. (From left) Honorary graduands Chan Heng Chee, Dr Noeleen Heyzer and Wong Ngit Liong, and NUS president Professor Tan Eng Chye (far right) during the graduation ceremony on July 14. SINGAPORE – Veteran diplomats Chan Heng Chee and Noeleen Heyzer, as well as tech pioneer Wong Ngit Liong, received honorary degrees from the National University of Singapore (NUS) on July 14. The honorary Doctor of Letters degrees were presented by Education Minister Desmond Lee at the commencement ceremony for 99 graduates from the NUS Business School, held by NUS at the University Cultural Centre. The honorary degrees are the university's highest form of recognition for outstanding individuals whose service has had an impact in Singapore and globally. Professor Chan Heng Chee is an NUS alumna who graduated with first class honours in Political Science in 1964 when it was then known as the University of Singapore, and returned to do her PhD in 1974. She was NUS' first female head of Political Science, before being appointed to lead the new Institute of Policy Studies in 1988. In 1996, at the start of her 16-year stay in Washington as Singapore's UN Representative and Ambassador to the United States, Prof Chan deepened ties, culminating in the US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement which was signed in 2003. In a citation, Professor Simon Chesterman, NUS' vice provost and dean of NUS College, said that through her career transitions, from academic to diplomat and then public intellectual, Prof Chan brought together a rare combination of intellectual independence and global experience. 'Throughout her career, Ambassador Chan has helped to shape how Singapore understands itself and how Singapore is understood by the world... at a time when expertise is not always valued quite as much as it is needed,' he said. While students of her time were focused on being 'present-ready' to grapple with political developments of the time such as Singapore's separation from Malaysia, Prof Chan said universities today have to prepare students to be 'future-ready'. With unpred icta bility and volatility being the new normal in 2025, she said students need to also develop an interest in politics and geopolitics. Addressing the graduands, she encouraged them to understand and follow what is happening in the world and locally, as it is crucial for their futures. 'Going forward, geopolitics is an inescapable part of our future, and we should be prepared to ride it, to deal with it,' said Prof Chan. Ambassador-at-Large Chan Heng Chee (left) being conferred the Honorary Doctor of Letters by Education Minister Desmond Lee on July 14. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG Fellow honorary degree recipient and NUS alu mn a Noeleen Heyzer was former Under-Secretary-General of the UN and the highest ranking Singaporean in the UN system from 2007 to 2014. A leadership pioneer for women, Dr Heyzer was the first woman from outside North America to head the UN's Development Fund for Women, and the first woman to serve as the executive secretary of the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific since its founding in 1947. Calling her a trusted voice in global governance, NUS' vice provost of student life and acting dean at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Leong Ching said that Dr Heyzer is a trailblazer for women's empowerment across the world. 'Her leadership has redefined the nature of power itself – as a force for dignity, inclusion, and transformation,' said Prof Leong. Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Heyzer said that she is blessed to be born and raised in Singapore, where social mobility was provided for many, including her and her family. 'The transformative role of education and the thirst for learning played a big part in my evolving life,' she said. She called on graduates to provide new leadership in a world filled with paradox and disruptions, but also immense possibilities. Said Dr Heyzer: 'We are not just inheriting an emerging new world order. We are called to co-create it.' Dr Noeleen Heyzer being conferred the Honorary Doctor of Letters by Education Minister Desmond Lee on July 14. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG Mr Wong Ngit Liong, the final honorary degree recipient, is the executive chairman and founder of Venture Corporation. Since its inception in 1984, Mr Wong has led the company's evolution from a start-up in electronics manufacturing services into a globally recognised technology powerhouse. In public service, Mr Wong has been on numerous national boards and committees, including the Economic Development Board, 2002 Economic Review Committee and Singapore Exchange, among others. In a citation, Professor Aaron Thean, NUS' provost and deputy president of academic affairs, called Mr Wong a 'distinguished leader and pioneer in the global technology industry'. He added that as chairman of NUS' Board of Trustees from 2004 to 2016, Mr Wong's leadership was crucial in the university's structural transformation, including its propulsion into the ranks of the world's top universities. Recounting NUS's transformation since 2005, Mr Wong said he was part of a team that toured top universitie s in the US, Europe and China to learn and exchange ideas. Mr Wong Ngit Liong, executive chairman and founder of Venture Corporation, speaking after being conferred the Honorary Doctor of Letters by Education Minister Desmond Lee on July 14. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG Though foreign experts were invited to review local tertiary education strategy and curriculum, he said after some years, they were no longer needed. 'We adopted best practices, learned and leapfrogged to greater heights... We are so much more ahead of them, that they now have to learn from us,' said Mr Wong. A total of 17,646 students will receive bachelor's or graduate degrees this year from NUS at ceremonies taking place over 12 days from July 10 to July 21.

Straits Times
25 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Indonesia to require e-commerce platforms to collect tax on sellers
Find out what's new on ST website and app. The ministry will notify a platform if it meets the criteria, which will be based on site traffic and total transaction value over the past 12 months. JAKARTA - Indonesia's finance ministry will require e-commerce platforms to collect and pass on an income tax on sales made by small- and medium-sized sellers, according to new regulations published on July 14. Platforms that meet certain criteria must withhold and pass on a 0.5 per cent tax on sales made by sellers with an annual turnover of between 500 million rupiah (S$40,000) to 4.8 billion rupiah. They must also share the sellers' information with tax authorities. The ministry will notify a platform if it meets the criteria, which will be based on site traffic and total transaction value over the past 12 months. While the directive is effective immediately, platforms will be given a month to comply. Reuters reported exclusively last month on the plan to impose the tax. The tax office has said the rules are intended to tackle the 'shadow economy'. Indonesia's e-commerce association idEA has said its members would comply, but expressed concern over the implementation timeline, with the regulation set to impact millions of sellers. Indonesia's main e-commerce operators include ByteDance's TikTok Shop and Tokopedia, Sea Limited's Shopee, the Alibaba-backed Lazada, Blibli and Bukalapak. South-east Asia's largest economy has a booming e-commerce industry, with last year's estimated gross merchandise value of US65 billion expected to grow to US$150 billion (S$83 billion) by 2030, according to a report by Google, Singapore state investor Temasek and consultancy Bain & Co. REUTERS
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
Sovereign wealth funds fear missing China tech boom, survey says
[LONDON] Global sovereign wealth investors managing US$27 trillion in assets are increasingly bullish on China's tech sector because they don't want to miss out on the next waves of innovation, according to an annual survey by Invesco Asset Management. Some 59 per cent of respondents see China as a high or a moderate allocation priority over the next five years, up from 44 per cent last year, the survey conducted among 83 sovereign wealth funds and 58 central banks during the first quarter of 2025 showed. 'There's a bit of fear-of-missing-out effect here with China tech boom like Silicon Valley of some years ago,' said Rod Ringrow, head of official institutions at Invesco. 'There's a general view from the sovereign sector here that Chinese tech will be globally competitive and they want to make sure they're part of the programme now.' Attractive local returns are cited as the top driver for future flows, reflecting confidence in the sector's valuations and earnings potential relative to other markets, the survey said. The shift comes despite rising tensions between China and the US. It comes at the cost of reduced allocations to longer-maturity US government debt amid concerns about fiscal sustainability and policy volatility, the report said. Sovereign asset managers are also re-evaluating passive index strategies, particularly those focused on exposure to US equities. Furthermore, central banks are building larger, more diversified reserves to withstand volatility, the report said. While the US dollar retains its dominance, gold's role as a defensive asset is growing. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up 'Central banks continue to buy gold and a lot of that is driven by weaponization concerns,' Ringrow said. 'It's a core part of the reserve holdings due to anti-inflation protection but also because it can't be easily sequestered by someone else.' Sector-focused Ringrow said the bullish camp on China includes a number of US-based institutions. Still, the renewed interest doesn't mean a return to a broad-based 'rush to China' sentiment of the past, according to Invesco. Instead, it 'reflects a more deliberate, sector-focused approach, targeting areas where China is positioned to achieve global leadership, underpinned by both market momentum and strategic policy support,' the report said. This means that sovereign investors are orienting their China strategies around specific tech ecosystems, rather than broad macroeconomic exposure. These include semiconductors, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure, according to the report. Invesco cited a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund as saying that China will dominate solar, wind, EV, and battery markets for decades. A respondent from the Asia-Pacific region said that given the amount of resources and policy support from Chinese authorities, it's only a matter of time until the country closes the gap on the US in semiconductors, cloud computing, and AI. BLOOMBERG