Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has announced the opening of a new office in Seattle, further expanding its global footprint. Musk himself shared the update on social media.
According to xAI’s careers page, the Seattle team is currently hiring three engineers, with salaries ranging from $180,000 to $440,000. These positions are primarily focused on video and image generation technologies.
The establishment of the Seattle office places xAI in closer proximity to Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond. Microsoft, through its deep partnership with OpenAI, holds significant influence in the AI sector. Industry watchers view xAI’s move as a strategic step in the intensifying competition. Beyond Seattle, xAI has also expanded operations in San Francisco, Austin, London, Dublin, New York, and Memphis.
xAI Seattle office opening https://t.co/15cniHGwWH
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 5, 2025
As competition in the AI field heats up, tech salaries in Seattle have continued to rise. Reports suggest that OpenAI engineers can earn up to $530,000 annually, while some roles at Anthropic approach $690,000. Against this backdrop, xAI is offering relatively competitive compensation to attract top talent.
Despite its rapid expansion, xAI has also seen some personnel changes, including the departures of co-founder Igor Babuschkin and general counsel Robert Keele. Meanwhile, the company continues to advance iterations of its Grok large language model and is planning to build a supercomputing cluster called Colossus to support future R&D. Reports also indicate that xAI has secured additional office space in San Francisco’s Mission District.
With the launch of the Seattle office, xAI has further strengthened its presence in the AI landscape. Industry observers note that the company’s ability to remain competitive will hinge on whether it can achieve technological breakthroughs and attract top talent.