Elon Musk is doubling down on his efforts in the generative AI landscape. On top of his xAI company, which recently acquired X (formerly Twitter) for $33 billion, the billionaire announced plans to build “a purely AI software company” called Macrohard.
He made the announcement earlier today on X while asking professionals in the field to join xAI and help build the company. “It’s a tongue-in-cheek name, but the project is very real!” Musk added.
Join @xAI and help build a purely AI software company called Macrohard. It’s a tongue-in-cheek name, but the project is very real!In principle, given that software companies like Microsoft do not themselves manufacture any physical hardware, it should be possible to simulate…August 22, 2025
The announcement has received mixed reactions across social media, going hard with memes.
However, Elon Musk isn’t entirely right about Microsoft being entirely a software company. While Microsoft is well known for its development of software like Windows and Microsoft 365 Office, which have been broadly adopted by users across the world over the years, the company has also dabbled in hardware development, including computing, gaming, and mobile hardware (RIP Windows Phone).
But Musk isn’t off base entirely either. A lot of the company’s hardware and services have shipped to the Microsoft graveyard prematurely. As indicated by our Executive Editor, Jez Corden, while critiquing Microsoft’s lack of direction and mission:
“Microsoft as an entity no longer has any real direction, and no conviction, and crucially, no willingness to actually compete. Microsoft represents the apex of late-stage capitalism, where failure is rewarded, and the ability to shift capital rapidly voids the necessity to deliver for consumers and society in general.
Microsoft increasingly just seems to go where other companies, true innovators, say the money is — looking for the next fad to devour and process, rather than curate and cultivate. How will Xbox, Surface, or Windows 11 grow without risk, investment, and curating consumer confidence? In a world where Microsoft has enough capital to just move wherever the wind is blowing, it simply doesn’t seem to care. It doesn’t have to be this way.”
More recently, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella indicated that the company was shifting focus from Bill Gates’ “software factory” vision to three core businesses: AI, security, and quality.
When Bill founded Microsoft, he envisioned not just a software company, but a software factory, unconstrained by any single product or category. That idea has guided us for decades. But today, it’s no longer enough.
Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates
Over the past few years, Microsoft has seemingly doubled down on its AI efforts, especially after it made a multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI. The tech giant has since integrated next-gen AI capabilities across its tech stack.
Despite efforts to enhance Copilot’s user experience for Windows, users are seemingly more inclined toward OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which boasts over 700 million weekly users. Even corporates seemingly prefer ChatGPT over Copilot despite both tools being based on the same technology.
Elon Musk’s feud with Microsoft and OpenAI
The billionaire has been on OpenAI and Microsoft’s case since he left the ChatGPT maker’s board. He has filed two separate lawsuits against the AI firm, citing a stark betrayal of its founding mission after it announced its intentions to evolve into a for-profit entity amid immense pressure from investors, which could cost it funding, outsider interference, and hostile takeovers.
OpenAI, Inc. has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft. Under its new board, it is not just developing but is actually refining an AGI to maximize profits for Microsoft, rather than for the benefit of humanity. This was a stark betrayal of the Founding Agreement.
Elon Musk
Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI has sparked a lot of attention across the tech industry, with executives like Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff predicting that Microsoft won’t use OpenAI’s technology in the future following the announcement of the $500 billion Stargate project to facilitate the construction of data centers across the United States to bolster the AI firm’s advances.
However, the once-best techbromance is seemingly fraying following OpenAI’s new mission to evolve into a for-profit company. Multiple reports suggest that Microsoft is holding back the transition plans in a bid to protect its best interests. “Holding out is Microsoft’s nuclear option,” added an OpenAI insider.
Following the launch of OpenAI’s GPT-5 model, Elon Musk indicated that “OpenAI is going to eat Microsoft alive.” However, Satya Nadella and Sam Altman seem unfazed by the claims. “People have been trying for 50 years, and that’s the fun of it! Each day you learn something new, and innovate, partner, and compete,” added Microsoft’s CEO.
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