Musk Taps Into Private Credit to Fund AI Ambitions

WSJ What’s News

The Wall Street Journal

News, Daily News

4 • 4K Ratings

🗓️ 22 July 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

P.M. Edition for July 22. To keep his company competitive in a wild and costly AI battle, Elon Musk is seeking up to $12 billion for xAI as it looks to build a new data center. Plus, Republican leaders in the House have cut short this week’s session as the furor over disclosures from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation continues. “Buy now, pay later” plans become more popular among Americans, but they might hurt their chances of mortgage or credit-card approval. WSJ personal economics reporter Imani Moise discusses why banks are worried about the rise of “buy now, pay later.” Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Race the rudder, raise the sails, raise the sales!
0:05.0	Captain, an unidentified ship approaching. Over.
0:07.0	Roger that. Wait, is that an enterprise sales solution?
0:13.0	Reach sales professionals, not professional sailors.
0:17.0	With LinkedIn ads, you can target the right people by industry, job title, and more.
0:21.4	To get £100 off your first campaign, go to LinkedIn.com slash lead to claim your credit.
0:26.6	That's LinkedIn.com slash lead. Terms and conditions apply.
0:33.3	Elon Musk is turning to new funding sources to keep pace in the artificial intelligence race.
0:39.2	Plus, private credit firms are seeking in-house lawyers as their deals get more complex.
0:44.2	A few years ago, private credit mainly referred to middle market, direct lending, and now it encompasses everything from asset-based lending all the way to collateralize loan obligations and BDCs.
0:57.0	And discord over the Jeffrey Epstein investigation brings the House of Representatives to a standstill.
1:03.3	It's Tuesday, July 22nd.
1:05.5	I'm Alex Osloff for the Wall Street Journal.
1:07.4	This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.
1:18.5	In an exclusive, we're reporting that XAI, Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup,
1:23.6	is looking to secure up to $12 billion to fuel its ambitious expansion plans.
1:29.2	That's according to people familiar with the situation. The money would be used to buy a massive
1:33.9	supply of advanced invidient chips that would be leased to XAI for a new jumbo-sized data
1:39.2	center meant to help train and power the AI chatbot GROC. Valor Equity Partners, an investment firm
1:45.7	whose founder Antonio Gracias has close ties to Musk is in talks with lenders to raise the capital.
1:51.8	Musk needs all the financial firepower he can get to stay competitive in a wild and costly AI battle
1:57.4	with well-funded rivals like Google, Microsoft, and meta. GROC hasn't gained nearly as much
	...

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