The tech giants are putting new pressure on a hierarchy dominated by OpenAI and Anthropic.
Meta and SpaceX release AI models with competitive performance-to-price ratios, narrowing the gap with OpenAI and Anthropic. Price becomes the decisive factor; Musk and Zuckerberg's scale now positions them as credible challengers to OpenAI-Anthropic.
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images
Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have muscled their way back into AI's elite ranks, defying early obituaries to close the gap on a new generation of Silicon Valley startups.
Why it matters: Recent gains by tech giants SpaceX and Meta — long stuck in AI's second tier — are putting new pressure on a hierarchy dominated by OpenAI and Anthropic.
Musk and Zuckerberg release new AI models from xAI and Meta. Anthropic has the best AI model by August 2026 at 93.5% YES.
With the roll out of AI model Grok 4.5, Elon Musk's xAI has closed the gap with rivals Google, Anthropic and OpenAI, analysts say.
Nine months after an expensive overhaul, the company says it's back in the AI race — but the race keeps getting faster
Here's how to make sense of American AI labs one-upping each other this week.
Needed, pls recommendAs SpaceX and OpenAI race toward IPOs, a tiny circle of tech leaders tightens its grip on AI’s future
The Meta CEO is counting on his spending spree to fuel AI innovation as his tech giant falls behind its peers.
Mark Zuckerberg makes his case for American open-source AI over Chinese rivals | Fortune
