SpaceX has an AI device prototype, and it sure sounds phone-ish

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has shown investors a prototype of a “handset-like” AI device, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The prototype is reportedly sleeker and slimmer than an iPhone, making america wonderment if it’s thing betwixt a tiny touchscreen telephone and a Rabbit R1. SpaceX reportedly showed the instrumentality to investors and stakeholders earlier it went public, and told them it’s astatine an aboriginal capable signifier that the plan could inactive change. 

Musk has denied the reporting, calling it “utterly false.”

SpaceX, alongside sister institution Tesla, does person the manufacturing expertise to propulsion disconnected wide producing a clump of AI devices — not to notation entree to the chips needed to powerfulness immoderate on-device compute. SpaceX has besides signaled that it’s keen to grow into wireless, with Starlink Mobile arsenic a imaginable rival to Verizon and AT&T. One expert adjacent went arsenic acold arsenic to speculate that T-Mobile oregon AT&T would marque good acquisition targets for the rocket builder, though specified a acquisition would, undoubtedly, beryllium pricey.

It’s besides not wide if SpaceX is conscionable throwing spaghetti astatine the partition oregon if it volition effort to truly wide nutrient and marketplace specified a device. But 1 happening that seems clearer is that if OpenAI is doing it, Musk would, perhaps, privation to effort to bash it better.

As we know, OpenAI is moving with Apple’s erstwhile main plan serviceman Jony Ive connected an AI instrumentality that CEO Sam Altman has claimed volition beryllium more peaceful than an iPhone. Reports from past autumn suggest the institution has been struggling to get the details right, and OpenAI precocious brought connected different Apple enforcement to perchance assistance determination things along. News dropped past week that Paul Meade, Apple’s VP successful complaint of the Vision Pro headset, has joined OpenAI’s hardware team. 

Like OpenAI, SpaceX’s prototype is reportedly designed to tally connected a proprietary operating strategy and integrate exertion from xAI, Musk’s AI institution that SpaceX acquired earlier this year. This would forestall these caller devices from being trapped wrong different company’s platforms (like Google’s Android). But also, the intent appears to besides beryllium to make thing new, with autochthonal AI interfaces. That said, the graveyard is crowded with the unsuccessful launches of AI devices from companies similar Humane and Rabbit. A institution wanting to merchantability an AI device, does not equate consumers wanting to bargain specified a thing. Yet.