Telegram Partners With Elon Musk’s xAI in $300M Deal to Deploy Grok AI

Telegram has announced a landmark $300 million partnership with Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, to integrate the Grok chatbot into its messaging platform. This deal represents a major step in Telegram’s efforts to expand its platform’s capabilities and compete with other AI-enhanced messaging services. Under the agreement, xAI’s Grok-3 model will be embedded directly into Telegram, accessible to users via the @GrokAI handle. Telegram Premium users will be the first to access the chatbot, which offers conversational AI functionality similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. While basic features will be available within Telegram, advanced options like “Think” mode and Deep Search will remain exclusive to X Premium+ subscribers or those using Grok through its standalone platform. In return, Telegram will earn 50% of all subscription revenue generated via the app. The move highlights Telegram’s broader monetization strategy, especially following a significant turnaround in 2024 when the company reported a $540 million profit after suffering losses the year prior. This growth has been largely fueled by its premium subscription model and increasing activity within its TON blockchain ecosystem. The integration of Grok is expected to attract more users and further monetize Telegram’s growing user base, which now exceeds one billion globally. Investors responded positively to the news, with Toncoin (TON), the native cryptocurrency of Telegram’s Open Network, jumping 16% shortly after the announcement. This price surge reflects growing optimism about the future of Telegram’s blockchain and its utility in an AI-integrated ecosystem. By combining advanced AI with blockchain infrastructure, Telegram and xAI are positioning themselves at the forefront of innovation in both messaging and decentralized technology, signaling a new chapter in the evolution of social platforms powered by artificial intelligence.