In a bold new move, Elon Musk has announced plans to launch a new software company under the umbrella of his AI startup, xAI, with the explicit goal of competing directly with Microsoft. The venture, playfully dubbed “Macrohard,” aims to be a purely AI-driven software company. The announcement came through a series of posts on X, where Musk called on engineers to join the ambitious project.
Musk’s vision for Macrohard is to create a multi-agent AI system where xAI’s Grok chatbot would “spawn hundreds of specialized coding and image/video generation/understanding agents.” These agents would work together to simulate human interaction with software in virtual machines until the output is “excellent.” This novel approach is based on the premise that because software companies like Microsoft don’t produce physical hardware, their entire product suite could, in theory, be replicated entirely with AI.
The name Macrohard is a tongue-in-cheek jab at the software giant, but the underlying ambition is anything but humorous. The new company is positioned as a direct challenger to Microsoft’s long-standing dominance in productivity software, aiming to take on staples like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This isn’t the first time Musk has signaled his interest in disrupting the software space. In 2024, he hinted at creating AI-powered video games, and now, his focus has broadened to the high-stakes world of productivity tools.
The development of Macrohard will be closely tied to xAI’s burgeoning supercomputer infrastructure, including the Colossus supercomputer in Memphis. Musk has also confirmed plans to acquire millions of Nvidia enterprise-grade GPUs, positioning Macrohard in the same league as other AI powerhouses like OpenAI and Meta, who are all engaged in a fierce race for computational supremacy.
Musk’s call for engineers to join xAI comes amid an intense talent war in the AI industry. While other companies are offering exorbitant compensation packages, Musk has claimed that xAI attracts top talent from rivals like Meta by offering a “hyper merit-based” culture and a mission-driven environment. He has also made it clear that xAI is primarily looking for engineers, not “researchers,” a term he has publicly called a “relic from academia.” This distinction, he argues, promotes a more practical, results-oriented approach to AI development, a philosophy also shared by other top AI firms like OpenAI and Anthropic.
