Mississippi Governor Touts Elon Musk-Led xAI's $20 Billion 'MACROHARDRR' Venture: 'Largest Private Investment...'

Governor Tate Reeves (R-Mississippi) has hailed Elon Musk-backed artificial intelligence company xAI's $20 billion investment in the state.

Largest Private Investment In Mississippi History, Tate Reeves Says

In a post on the social media platform X on Sunday, Reeves shared a video hailing the investment made by xAI in Southaven, DeSoto County, which would lead to "Hundreds of direct high-tech jobs" in the state.

Reeves shared that the venture was "the largest private investment in Mississippi history." The Governor also touted that the investment would lead to "thousands" of indirect jobs in the state, further boosting the state's economy.

According to the official statement released by the Governor's office on January 8, xAI's "MACROHARDRR," a large-scale datacenter, will be in proximity to the company's "newly acquired power plant site in Southaven," as well as xAI's datacenter in Memphis, Tennessee, which was earlier under fire for negatively impacting the city's predominantly African-American community.

Musk’s “Macrohard” initiative is a tongue-in-cheek wordplay on Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) and has been touted by the billionaire as an AI-enabled venture that would be able to “simulate” software companies like the Bill Gates co-founded company, among others.

xAI Raises $20 Billion

The news comes as the artificial intelligence company raised over $20 billion in its latest funding round, surpassing the $15 billion goal it had initially targeted. Among its backers is chipmaker Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA), which is touted to be a "strategic investor" in the company.

Despite this, the company has reported massive spending and losses in its AI development efforts. xAI reported a net loss of $1.46 billion in the September quarter, with the company spending over $7.8 billion in the first nine months of 2025.

Elon Musk Defends xAI Retention

Meanwhile, Musk defended xAI against critics who maintained that the company's talent retention rate was poor when compared to its competitors. The billionaire reiterated that there were "very few regretted departures" from xAI and that the company was aggressively expanding despite its smaller workforce in comparison with rivals.

The criticism comes amid multiple departures from xAI, with the company's former CFO, Mike Liberatore, leaving his role at the startup after spending just three months with the company.

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