'Misanthropic and evil': Musk slams Anthropic after $30B funding round
What's the story
Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla, has slammed AI company Anthropic after it announced a massive $30 billion funding round at a post-money valuation of $380 billion. The company, which is known for its Claude AI chatbot, shared the news on X (formerly Twitter). "This investment will help us deepen our research," said Anthropic in the post. However, Musk wasn't impressed with the development.
Allegations
Musk's scathing rebuke
Musk reacted to Anthropic's announcement on X, accusing the company's AI of harboring biases against certain racial and sexual groups. He wrote, "Your AI hates Whites & Asians, especially Chinese, heterosexuals and men. This is misanthropic and evil. Fix it." In a follow-up post, he said that there was nothing they could do to escape the irony of ending up being "misanthropic," given their name choice.
Position
Musk's ongoing battle against perceived AI bias
Musk's comments highlight his growing concern over what he sees as ideological bias in AI systems. He has often used this argument to differentiate his own company's approach to artificial intelligence from others. The remarks come at a time when Musk's own AI venture, xAI, is going through major internal changes after merging with SpaceX.
Restructuring
xAI's internal restructuring and merger with SpaceX
At an all-hands meeting, Musk spoke about the internal changes at xAI. He said, "We're organizing because we've reached a certain scale. Some people are better suited for the early stages of a company and less suited for the later stages." Despite these challenges, Musk reiterated his ambitions for xAI as a company with "interstellar ambitions" and encouraged potential hires to embrace its intensity.
Market standing
Anthropic's rise in the AI landscape
Anthropic's latest funding round and soaring valuation cement its position among the elite in the global AI race, with significant scale and resources. The company's Claude chatbot series has been praised for its safety-focused design and reasoning capabilities, making it a credible alternative to Musk's own efforts. This highlights how competition in the AI industry has evolved from innovation alone to a clash of philosophies between cautious, regulated AI development versus rapid, open-ended growth.