Elon Musk’s xAI Positioned to Compete in Federal AI Contracts Under New Trump Administration
Trump’s presidency could give Elon Musk’s xAI a competitive edge, making it a key AI contractor for the U.S. government by letting it join the ranks of approved federal AI companies.
Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, was founded to compete with OpenAI. With the new leadership in place, it may now be easier for xAI to get contracts from the government. The U.S. government has worked with top AI companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta in the past to make AI technologies available across all federal departments. Now that Trump has been elected, XAI should be better able to compete as a vendor in these programs, and they might even be able to get preferred vendor status.
The government doesn’t favor any one vendor; instead, contracts are given out based on open bids. However, Musk’s ties to Trump could be good for xAI, especially as federal agencies look for possible partners in generative AI technology.
Repeal of Biden-Era AI Executive Order Could Accelerate xAI’s Innovation.
President Trump’s government might shift some of the rules, and one of them could be the deletion of President Joe Biden’s AI Executive Order (EO), which was launched in October 2023. This order requires those who create these advanced AI models to undergo a series of safety assessments, report the results to the government, and allow NIST to ‘pen test’ their models. While it was thought by many as protection for responsible AI, some in the industry regarded it as a way that would stall AI firms in the U.S. and make them lose competitiveness on the international market.
The removal of this EO could make it much easier for regulators to do their jobs, which would speed up the time it takes for xAI and its rivals to release new models. This change could also help xAI’s newest products, like Grok-2, which added more flexible features to AI-generated content and might make coders and business users more interested.
What’s next for Musk’s xAI as Trump’s presidency changes AI policy
Trump’s return to the White House is likely to change the rules that guide AI. This could give Elon Musk’s xAI the freedom and federal access it needs to expand its work with the government. As the new administration’s policies take effect, Musk’s AI goals could get a huge boost, putting xAI on the path to becoming a strong player in both the commercial and government AI markets.
