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xAI will launch the smartest AI on earth tonight

xAI will launch the smartest AI on earth tonight

February 17, 2025

Hello everyone! Hope you had a nice weekend! Here’s what you need to know about AI today:

👉 Grok 3 is set to launch on Monday

👉 Perplexity’s Deep Research tool is fast and cheap, unlike OpenAI’s

👉 xAI is raising another $10 billion

and many more!

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Read time: 4.9 minutes

XAI
Grok 3 is coming tonight

Source: Mint

What’s going on: In a recent post on X, Elon Musk announced that the latest generation of xAI models, Grok 3, is set to be launched on Monday night at 8pm PT. He has made bold claims about the capabilities of this model by calling it “Smartest AI on Earth” and saying that it is more intelligent than any other AI model created to date and it is “scary smart“.

What does it mean: The release of Grok 3 has the potential to be a pivotal moment in the history of AI. If this model turns out to be as smart as Musk claims, it is going to render the latest top models like DeepSeek-R1 and OpenAI’s o1 and o3-mini redundant. This could also prove that training AI models on massive compute resources outweigh algorithmic advancements, when it comes to build super-intelligent AI systems. If it delivers as expected, it will make Nvidia stocks skyrocket. Otherwise, DeepSeek’s super-optimized and efficient approach to train AI models will get more reputation.

More details:

Grok 3’s development was accelerated by Colossus supercomputer which was built in just 122 days by xAI engineers. Colossus is powered by 100,000 Nvidia H100 GPUs, providing 200 million GPU-hours for training.
This model uses synthetic datasets, self-correction mechanisms and reinforcement learning to enhance its performance.
AI errors and hallucinations are reduced in Grok 3 by using multiple validation steps, checking information against reliable sources, and continuous self-evaluation and learning.

PERPLEXITY AI
Perplexity launches its own freemium deep research tool

Source: Perplexity

What’s going on: Perplexity has recently launched a new tool called “Deep Research”, significantly reducing the cost of AI-driven research. Previously, sophisticated AI research tools like OpenAI’s Deep Research and Google’s Gemini Thinking were luxuries few could afford, but Perplexity has made it accessible to a broader audience by eliminating premium pricing barriers.

What does it mean: This tool combines web search, coding capabilities, and reasoning functions to mimic the work of expert human researchers but at a much faster pace. By automating and refining research iteratively, it can generate comprehensive reports in minutes, a process that would otherwise take hours or days. This tool has the potential to democratize AI research, allowing small businesses, independent researchers, and even students to engage in high-level research without the prohibitive costs.

More details:

Perplexity offers 5 free queries daily to all users. Pro subscribers can pay $20 monthly for 500 daily queries and faster processing. In comparison, OpenAI charges its Premium subscribers $200 each month for its “Deep Research” tool.
Users can export findings as PDF or share them through Perplexity’s platform.
Perplexity has plans to expand Deep Research to iOS, Android, and Mac platforms.

🖥 South Korea plans to acquire 10,000 GPUs for its National AI Computing Center to enhance its AI capabilities.’

💰 xAI is negotiating to secure $10 billion in funding, potentially valuing the company at $75 billion. This would bring xAI’s total raised to $22.4 billion.

🤖 Meta is reportedly forming a new team within its Reality Labs division to develop AI-powered humanoid robots.

🏭 xAI's plan to power its "Colossus" supercomputer with 15 gas turbines in Memphis has sparked health concerns due to the emission of hazardous air pollutants, including formaldehyde.

🧠 OpenAI is updating its training approach for AI models to promote "intellectual freedom" and reduce censorship, allowing ChatGPT to discuss more controversial topics without taking editorial stances.

🚫 South Korea has banned the Chinese AI app DeepSeek from government devices due to significant privacy concerns.