SpaceX is considering purchasing data from defunct startups to expand training resources for its Grok AI model.

SpaceX is exploring purchasing data from struggling or defunct startups to expand its AI model training resources at a lower cost. This strategy marks a significant shift in the company's approach to AI data acquisition and reflects its urgent need to accelerate its progress in the AI arms race.

According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, SpaceX AI, SpaceX's AI division, has been discussing acquiring customer information and operational data from troubled startups. These discussions are currently informal, and it is not yet certain whether a deal will be finalized.

SpaceXAI's actions are strikingly similar to Google's previous practices—Google offered $10 million to purchase data from Spirit Airlines, a low-cost carrier, for AI training after the latter ceased operations, despite concerns raised by some former crew members regarding data privacy.

In a recent internal meeting, Musk told SpaceX employees, "We will train Grok with all the information SpaceX has, and it will learn from you." This statement indicates that external data acquisition and internal data mining will proceed in parallel, working together to iterate and upgrade the Grok model.

SpaceX shares rose 2.6% on Thursday.

Grok faces fierce competition in the AI market.

SpaceX is currently pushing its AI business forward, attempting to win more enterprise clients in competition with leading institutions such as Anthropic and OpenAI. High-quality training data is a core element for improving the performance of AI models on various tasks, and a key resource that AI companies are vying for.

SpaceX AI previously relied primarily on data from Musk's social media platform X and its internal "AI mentor" team to train and optimize models. This consideration of introducing external datasets represents a significant expansion of its existing data strategy.

It is worth noting that sources familiar with the matter revealed that SpaceX AI continues to use its internal mentor team to help engineers improve the AI system's capabilities in professional fields such as finance, science, and even humor.

The "AI Mentor" team has experienced turmoil and undergone management restructuring.

SpaceX AI suspended hiring for AI mentor positions in June of this year and subsequently changed its team leadership. Jack Garabedian, who has worked for many years in Starlink's satellite internet service division, took over as team leader, replacing former engineer Diego Pasini.

After taking office, Garabedian focused on quelling discontent within the team by establishing workflows, regular meeting mechanisms, and clarifying AI training data goals, gradually stabilizing team operations.

The data team reportedly summarized its progress in its July work report, including advancements in new AI models and code-based intelligent agents. The report stated, "These achievements are inseparable from the meticulous annotation, preference alignment, and validation work that the team quietly performs every day."

Risk warning and disclaimerInvesting involves risk; please exercise caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account the specific investment objectives, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their specific circumstances. Any investment decisions made based on this information are at your own risk.