Elon Musk’s xAI has struck a massive $300 million deal with Telegram, putting his controversial Grok AI into the hands of millions while Telegram’s founder remains under legal scrutiny in France.
Key Takeaways
- Elon Musk’s xAI is paying Telegram $300 million in cash and equity to integrate Grok AI into the messaging platform
- Telegram will receive 50% of revenue from xAI subscriptions purchased through the app
- The integration will make Grok’s AI capabilities available to Telegram’s massive user base for functions like writing suggestions, summarizing chats, and content moderation
- Telegram founder Pavel Durov faces ongoing legal troubles in France and is currently banned from traveling to the United States
- Both companies face controversies—Telegram for privacy concerns and xAI’s Grok for generating controversial content
Strategic Partnership Brings Advanced AI to Telegram
In a bold move to expand the reach of his artificial intelligence technology, Elon Musk’s xAI has forged a significant partnership with Telegram, the popular messaging platform. The deal involves xAI paying Telegram $300 million in cash and equity to distribute its Grok chatbot throughout the messaging service. This one-year integration agreement will make Grok’s advanced AI capabilities accessible across Telegram’s platform, potentially reaching hundreds of millions of users worldwide.
“xAI will pay $300 million in cash and equity to the chat app as part of the deal,” said Pavel Durov.
The partnership also includes a significant revenue-sharing component that could prove lucrative for Telegram. According to Durov, Telegram will earn 50% of all revenue generated from xAI subscriptions purchased through the app. This arrangement reflects the substantial value Musk places on gaining access to Telegram’s massive user base, which has grown significantly in recent years as users seek alternatives to mainstream social platforms dominated by leftist censorship policies.
Enhanced AI Capabilities Coming to Telegram Users
Grok, which was previously available only to Telegram’s premium subscribers, may now become accessible to all users through this expanded partnership. A demonstration video by Durov showed that Grok can be pinned at the top of chats and easily accessed through Telegram’s search bar. The integration will bring numerous AI functionalities to the platform, including writing suggestions, chat and document summarization, sticker creation, business question answering, and moderation assistance.
“Durov said Telegram will also earn 50% of the revenue from xAI subscriptions purchased through the app,” said Pavel Durov.
The strategic importance of this partnership becomes clear when considering Musk’s goal of creating an AI alternative to the established Big Tech offerings. By integrating Grok into Telegram, xAI gains immediate distribution to millions of users without having to build its own platform from scratch. For Telegram users, the addition of Grok represents access to cutting-edge AI technology that has been ranking competitively among top AI models, currently sitting at eighth place on the HuggingFace leaderboard for model effectiveness.
Controversies Surround Both Companies
While the business partnership appears promising, both companies bring their share of controversies to the table. Telegram has been cited by The Atlantic Council’s DFRLab as a platform used by Russian authorities for influence operations. Although Durov has emphasized user privacy in relation to the Grok integration, stating that xAI will only access data explicitly shared by users, Telegram’s privacy practices have long been subject to debate, particularly regarding its non-default encryption settings and instances of data sharing with authorities.
Durov himself is currently entangled in legal troubles. He was arrested in France over allegations related to Telegram’s handling of illegal activities on its platform and, although released on bail, is required to remain in Paris and report regularly to police. His travel has been restricted, with a recent request to visit the United States for investment talks denied. These legal challenges cast a shadow over Telegram’s operations at a time when the company is expanding its technical capabilities.
Grok’s Controversial History
On the xAI side, Grok has not been without its own controversies. The AI system has faced criticism for occasionally generating content that promotes conspiracy theories, which has raised questions about its content moderation capabilities. Despite these concerns, Grok continues to gain mainstream acceptance, with Microsoft recently adding Grok 3 to its Azure platform. This increasing adoption suggests that the AI industry is recognizing Grok’s technical merits despite the controversies.
The partnership between xAI and Telegram represents a significant development in the AI landscape, bringing together two independent-minded tech entities that have positioned themselves as alternatives to establishment platforms. As President Trump continues to champion innovation and free speech in technology, this collaboration between Musk’s AI venture and Durov’s messaging platform aligns with the conservative push for more diverse tech ecosystems that resist the censorship and groupthink prevalent among Silicon Valley giants.
