According to Business Insider, Elon Musk recently stated Google “currently has the highest probability of being the leader” in artificial intelligence, attributing this to Google’s significant computational and data advantages. This assessment was made amid an escalating dispute between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, prompting further discussion regarding the competitive landscape of AI development.
Musk elaborated on his rationale in an X post, noting, “Outside of real-world AI, Google has the biggest compute (and data) advantage for now, so currently has the highest probability of being the leader.” He appended this statement by suggesting the situation “may change in a few years.” Musk also articulated a broader outlook for the AI sector, stating, “For the foreseeable future, the major AI companies will continue to prosper, as will xAI. There is just so much to do!”
Google has maintained a prominent role in AI research and development for an extended period. In 2017, Google Research published a seminal paper titled “Attention Is All You Need.” This publication introduced the Transformer architecture, a foundational technology enabling the functionality of large language models, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
The company has also strategically invested in emerging AI entities, such as Anthropic and Safe Superintelligence. Legal filings obtained by The New York Times indicate Google possesses a 14% ownership stake in Anthropic, a startup established by former OpenAI employees.
Google continues to allocate substantial capital towards AI initiatives. During its recent second-quarter earnings call, the company disclosed an increase in its capital expenditures by $10 billion, bringing the total for the current year to $85 billion. Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, indicated this heightened investment aims to address the rising demand for specialized chips and Google’s suite of AI products.
Further underscoring Google’s contributions to the field, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, was one of three researchers awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last year. Hassabis, along with his colleague John Jumper, received recognition for Google DeepMind’s advancements in protein-structure prediction.
Musk’s recent comments regarding Google’s AI position coincide with his ongoing public disagreements with Sam Altman and OpenAI. On Monday, Musk announced xAI would initiate “immediate legal action” against Apple, alleging bias towards OpenAI within its App Store rankings. An Apple spokesperson responded by asserting that the App Store is “designed to be fair and free of bias.”
Musk and Altman initially cofounded OpenAI in 2015. However, their relationship deteriorated, culminating in Musk’s departure from OpenAI’s board in 2018. Last year, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, contending the ChatGPT developer had deviated from its original nonprofit mission through its partnership with Microsoft.
In July 2023, Musk launched his own AI startup, xAI, subsequently debuting its chatbot, Grok, later that same year. xAI secured over $12 billion across its Series A, B, and C funding rounds in 2024, achieving a reported valuation of $50 billion. Last month, Musk communicated via X that Tesla, his electric vehicle company, would seek a shareholder vote regarding a potential investment in xAI. He did not specify a timeline for this vote. On July 13, Musk stated on X, “It’s not up to me. If it was up to me, Tesla would have invested in xAI long ago.”
