Musk’s xAI Pays Telegram $300M to Launch Grok Chatbot
Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, has confirmed a deal with Telegram to roll out its chatbot Grok across the messaging platform's billion-plus users. The one-year partnership will see xAI pay Telegram $300 million in cash and equity, and Telegram will get 50% of subscription revenue from any xAI services sold through the app. Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced the news on social media, declaring, “Together, we win!”
This move signals a big push by xAI to compete in the crowded AI market, following Musk’s broader strategy to turn his tech empire into a data-rich AI powerhouse. The deal gives xAI access to vast new user interactions that could be used to train its models, though it’s still unclear whether Telegram data will be used in the same way Musk's platform X trains its AI using public posts.
The partnership also puts two controversial tech leaders—Musk and Durov—at the center of another major shift in digital services. Durov, recently arrested in France over Telegram’s moderation practices, continues to face criticism for the platform being dubbed the “dark web in your pocket.” Meanwhile, Musk is juggling a wide portfolio, from rockets and brain chips to politics and AI, while trying to position xAI as a serious competitor to giants like OpenAI.
