In partnership with
Hey {{first_name | there}},
“xAI was not built right the first time.” — Elon Musk
That’s not something you usually hear from the founder of an AI lab competing with OpenAI and Anthropic. But this week, Musk admitted exactly that.
Out of the 11 original co-founders who launched xAI in 2023, only two are left. Several senior engineers have also left the company.
Musk says this is intentional. The company is being rebuilt from the foundations up.
The immediate problem? AI coding tools.
Tools like Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex are quickly becoming the most valuable products in the AI industry. Developers use them every day, companies pay for them, and they generate real revenue.
According to Musk, xAI is currently behind in this area. The company recently held an all-hands meeting focused on how to catch up before the end of the year.
But Musk’s ambitions go beyond coding assistants.
Inside xAI, there’s also a project aimed at building an AI agent capable of performing most digital tasks a white-collar worker does on a computer. Long term, Musk wants these agents to work alongside Tesla’s AI systems.
Why this matters
AI coding tools are becoming the first major revenue stream for AI companies
The race between OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and xAI is intensifying
Whoever wins the AI developer ecosystem could dominate the future of software
In short: this isn’t just a company rebuild. It’s another chapter in the AI arms race.
A quick question:
What would you want to learn?
🛠️ AI Tools Worth Checking Out
Reedle — Turn your reading list into an AI knowledge base you can search and chat with.
VidFlux AI — Access multiple top AI video generation models from one dashboard.
SEOForge — Generate SEO articles, keyword research, and publish content automatically.
ProfessionalHeadshot — Turn selfies into professional headshots in minutes with AI.
What Else in AI Today
A developer just used Claude Code to crack a video game restriction in under 24 hours.
The mod targets Disney Infinity, which normally restricts characters to specific worlds. The developer used Claude Code to analyze the compiled game files and remove those restrictions.
Result: you can now play any character in any world.
Why it’s interesting
AI (specifically Claude Code) is starting to dramatically speed up reverse engineering and debugging, tasks that previously took days or weeks.
Anthropic just gave Claude a new capability: it can generate interactive charts and diagrams directly in chat. Instead of explaining a concept with text, Claude can now create visual tools that update during the conversation.
Example: Ask about compound interest, and Claude can generate a live chart showing how money grows over time.
Microsoft just launched Copilot Health, an AI tool designed to help people understand their health data.
The system combines: wearable data, health records, lab test results, medical history and turns them into insights you can act on.
Example: If poor sleep patterns correlate with activity levels or stress signals, Copilot Health can highlight that connection.
Microsoft says the long-term goal is building AI capable of assisting with complex medical analysis alongside doctors.
Meta is reportedly considering layoffs that could affect up to 20% of employees.
The company had about 79,000 workers at the end of last year.
Why the cuts?
Meta is spending heavily on AI infrastructure, chips, and model training, which is forcing the company to shift resources.
Google is integrating its Gemini AI models directly into Google Maps, introducing a new feature called Ask Maps. It lets you search for places using natural conversation instead of keywords.
You can ask questions like “Where can I charge my phone without waiting in a coffee shop line?” or “Is there a tennis court with lights open tonight?” and Maps will analyze data from 300M+ locations and 500M+ contributors to generate personalized recommendations.
Why it matters
Maps is shifting from searching locations → asking questions about the real world
AI + real-world data creates a powerful “world model” of physical places
Navigation apps could evolve into personal travel assistants that plan, recommend, and guide in one interface
The “Cupcake Prompt” That Reveals When AI Is Guessing
AI chatbots sometimes hallucinate, meaning they confidently make things up when they don’t know the answer.
A simple prompt can reduce this.
The Cupcake Prompt
“Before answering, check whether you are certain the information is accurate. If you are unsure or estimating, say the word “cupcake” first and explain what might be uncertain instead of guessing.”
Why it works
AI models are trained to always produce an answer.
This prompt instructs the model to acknowledge uncertainty instead of filling in gaps.
Best used when asking about
obscure historical facts
research statistics
niche products or companies
technical explanations
complex policy questions
It won’t eliminate hallucinations entirely, but it makes AI responses more transparent and trustworthy.
That’s it for today.
What stands out to me across all these updates is how fast AI is moving from tools that answer questions to systems that actually do things.
Coding tools are writing software.
Maps is becoming a real-world assistant.
Health tools are interpreting medical data.
And developers are already using AI to reverse engineer software faster than ever.
AI is becoming an interface to the real world.
Anyway, if you found something interesting in today’s edition, feel free to share it with someone who’s also trying to keep up with everything happening in AI right now.
See you in the next one.
— Aashish
What did you think about today's newsletter?
You Can't Automate Good Judgement
AI promises speed and efficiency, but it’s leaving many leaders feeling more overwhelmed than ever.
The real problem isn’t technology.
It’s the pressure to do more with less — without losing what makes your leadership effective.
BELAY created the free resource 5 Traits AI Can’t Replace & Why They Matter More Than Ever to help leaders pinpoint where AI can help and where human judgment is still essential.
At BELAY, we help leaders accomplish more by matching them with top-tier, U.S.-based Executive Assistants who bring the discernment, foresight, and relational intelligence that AI can’t replicate.
That way, you can focus on vision. Not systems.