Elon Musk's xAI Acquires Hotshot, a Video Production Company
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, has acquired Hotshot, a San Francisco-based company that specializes in AI-powered video production, similar to OpenAI's Sora platform. Although the financial details of the deal have not been disclosed, this acquisition is seen as a strategic move by xAI to strengthen its position in the video production sector.
Over the past two years, Hotshot developed three major video models: Hotshot-XL, Hotshot Act One, and Hotshot. Initially focused on AI-powered image creation, the company shifted its focus to text-based video generation. Hotshot's investors include prominent figures such as Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and investor Lach Groom.
xAI's acquisition of Hotshot signals its intent to develop its own video production models to compete with OpenAI and Google's video tools. Musk had previously stated in January that the "Grok Video" model would be launched within a few months.
Following the acquisition, Hotshot announced on March 14 that it would stop producing new videos, giving current customers until March 30 to download their previously created videos. It is still unclear which members of the Hotshot team will join xAI.
