The rivalry between OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and xAI boss Elon Musk has intensified once again, coinciding with a series of major announcements by OpenAI that underscore the escalating battle for artificial intelligence leadership.
According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI has hired Brent Mayo, a senior executive from Musk's xAI, in a high-profile talent acquisition that comes as competition for AI expertise and infrastructure reaches unprecedented levels.
The move follows OpenAI's unveiling of OpenAI Presence, a new offering for eligible enterprise customers, alongside ambitious plans to dramatically expand its computing capacity.
The company is also pushing ahead with a massive 3.2-gigawatt data centre project near Savannah, Georgia, while reportedly raising its long-term cloud infrastructure spending projection to about $750 billion.
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OpenAI is expected to invest more than $30 billion in new data centres, highlighting the enormous capital race driving the next phase of AI development.
The announcements came days after Altman and Musk resumed their public sparring on X.
Musk revived his "Scam Altman" attack on July 11, accusing the OpenAI chief of taking "scamming to a whole new level." Altman responded with a sharp dig, alleging Musk was "selling public market investors on short-term space datacenters," in an apparent reference to xAI's infrastructure ambitions.
The exchange added another chapter to a years-long feud that began after the two co-founded OpenAI in 2015.
Since Musk's departure from the company in 2018, the relationship has steadily deteriorated, culminating in lawsuits, public accusations and an ongoing legal battle over OpenAI's transformation from a nonprofit into a commercial AI powerhouse.
As OpenAI accelerates hiring, expands enterprise offerings and commits billions of dollars to AI infrastructure, the personal and corporate rivalry between Altman and Musk continues to shape the competitive landscape of the global artificial intelligence industry.
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