Ilon Musk’s xAI has acquired Hotshot, a startup specializing in AI tools for video generation

xAI, an Ilon Musk company, has acquired Hotshot, a startup that works on AI’s video generation technologies. The acquisition could signal xAI‘s intention to develop its own video generation models to compete with technologies such as OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo 2.

Hotshot: The path from photo creation to video through AI

Hotshot, based in San Francisco, was founded by Akash Sastry and John Mullan. The startup initially focused on developing tools for creating and editing photos with AI, but eventually switched to models for generating video from text, which has become the company’s main focus.

In the past two years, Hotshot has developed three video frameworks – Hotshot-XL, Hotshot Act One and Hotshot. These technologies have given the company a glimpse into how education, entertainment, communication and productivity may change in the coming years.

Hotshot Investment and Development

Before its release, Hotshot raised funding from venture capitalists such as Lachi Groom, Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, and SV Angel. However, the company did not disclose the size of its funding rounds.

How xAI plans to capitalize on Hotshot’s advances

With the acquisition of Hotshot, xAI apparently intends to develop its own models for video generation. It’s a move that could allow Musk’s company to compete with other tech giants in the field.

Ilon Musk has previously hinted that xAI is working on video generation models that could be integrated into the Grok chatbot. During a broadcast in January, Musk said he expects the «Grok Video» model to be released in the next few months.

What will happen to Hotshot after the acquisition

Hotshot announced on its website that it will begin phasing out new video generation as of March 14. The company’s customers will be able to download their videos until March 30. However, it’s not yet clear whether all Hotshot employees will be moving to xAI – Aakash Sastry, CEO of Hotshot, declined to comment on the matter.

Closure

The acquisition of Hotshot by xAI could be an important step towards creating proprietary AI models for AI video generation, allowing xAI to compete with other market leaders and strengthen its position in artificial intelligence.