xAI membakar uang dengan cepat: pengeluaran sebesar 7,8 miliar dolar dalam sembilan bulan, seberapa besar biaya ambisi AI Elon Musk?

【Block Rhythm】xAI, under Musk’s leadership, is staging a capital-intensive AI arms race. According to internal documents disclosed, the company’s losses continue to expand—Q3 net losses reached $1.46 billion, showing significant growth compared to Q1’s $1 billion. The more striking figure is that in the first nine months of 2025, xAI has already burned through $7.8 billion in cash.

This massive expenditure flows in three directions: first, infrastructure investment in building AI data centers; second, recruitment costs to attract top talent; third, software R&D—particularly AI software development providing driving technology for future humanoid robots. This playbook is no different from other high-growth AI startups: money raised through financing rapidly transforms into cash burn to seize technological and talent high ground.

In investor communications meetings, xAI management clearly outlined the current core mission—to accelerate the development and iteration of AI agents and related software products. These products will eventually converge into an ecosystem platform called “Macrohard” (a pun coined by Musk himself, alluding to the concept of a pure AI software company), with the ultimate goal being to provide intelligent driving support for Optimus humanoid robots.

In other words, xAI’s cash-burning logic is crystalline: use raised capital to pile up R&D speed, and use R&D results to support long-term product commercialization. On the most fiercely competitive AI track, whoever can more rapidly convert capital into core technology and products will likely occupy future market high ground.