Elon Musk has unveiled his latest experiment in tech, a cleverly named initiative that could unsettle Microsoft’s dominance. Musk has floated a new concept, dubbed Macrohard, a tongue-in-cheek moniker, but a very serious proposition.

Announced on X aka Twitter, Musk revealed that Macrohard is no joke. It will function as a purely AI software company, and will operate alongside his existing AI enterprise, xAI. According to Musk, since traditional software giants like Microsoft do not manufacture physical components themselves, it should be conceivable to recreate them entirely through artificial intelligence.

In Musk’s words, the plan is to launch hundreds of specialised coding and image or video generation/understanding agents, all working in harmony. These clever agents will simulate human users, engaging with software inside virtual machines until the output reaches excellence. It’s a bold vision: an AI-driven software factory, capable of emulating human-level performance across a wide array of tasks.

This announcement comes just weeks after xAI registered the Macrohard trademark with the United States Patent Office. Only last month, Musk had teased a multi-agent AI software firm leveraging xAI’s Grok chatbot. Now it appears that he has given the concept flesh and a name.

But this isn’t Musk’s first foray into conquering the software realm. Last year, he dropped hints about building AI-powered video games, and now he is set to broaden his ambitions, extending into the productivity software sphere that Microsoft has long dominated. After all, what’s more controversial than taking on the OGs, Word, Excel and PowerPoint with an army of AI agents?

To bring Macrohard to life, Musk is leaning on xAI’s burgeoning supercomputer infrastructure. Based at facilities in Memphis, the so-called Colossus supercomputer is expected to draw in millions of Nvidia enterprise-grade GPUs, putting Macrohard in the same league as AI behemoths like OpenAI and Meta, who have also been snapping up Nvidia’s top-tier chips.

This “macro challenge,” as Musk calls it, is undeniably tough. The competition in generative AI is fierce. But the name Macrohard already seems to wink at the challenge rather than shy away: a playful, self-aware jab at the behemoth it aims to emulate and outpace.

So, what exactly is Macrohard? According to Musk, it's “very real” – a bold AI-only software powerhouse, powered by multitudes of agents and a cutting-edge supercomputer. Whether it can dethrone Microsoft’s Office empire remains to be seen, but in true Musk fashion, it sure makes things entertaining. Expect plenty more updates as this quirky but credible endeavour unfolds.

Source: India Today