Elon Musk’s xAI has struck a US$300 million one-year partnership with Pavel Durov’s Telegram to deploy Grok - the generative AI chatbot originally built for the X platform - to its more than 1 billion users globally.
“This Summer, Telegram users will gain access to the best AI technology on the market. Elon Musk and I have agreed to a 1-year partnership to bring xAI’s Grok to our billion+ users, and integrate it across all Telegram apps.” Durov said.
According to Durov, Telegram will receive $300 million in cash and equity from xAI, along with 50% of any revenue generated via xAI subscriptions sold through Telegram.
Telegram, often described as the messaging platform of choice for the privacy-conscious, is set to have Grok system trained, managed, and deployed by xAI that will have access to a sprawling, fast-growing messaging ecosystem outside of U.S. tech control.
Grok on Telegram will offer multiple access points: pinned for constant availability, searchable, and accessible via the message composer (to refine direct messages).
It will be able to summarise chats, documents, and links and provide automated moderation in group chats.
Yet perhaps Durov was jumping the gun a little - at least according to Elon who replied to the X post:
If the deal goes ahead, for Musk, it’s a distribution coup. For Telegram, a monetisation engine in a platform famously resistant to advertising.
Contentious?
August 2024 saw Pavel Durov hauled into custody on French soil - where he was accused of enabling criminality through Telegram's alleged moderation failures.
Critics have long branded his encrypted platform the "dark web in your pocket", pointing to rampant discussions of illegal acts such as prostitution, drug dealing other criminal activity flourishing within its channels.
Durov, predictably, denies any lack of cooperation with authorities on trafficking, CSAM, and fraud. Telegram similarly dismisses claims its moderation isn't "robust enough."
