Telegram to partner with Musk’s xAI to bring Grok chatbot to its users

Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, is teaming up with Telegram to integrate its Grok chatbot into the messaging platform, Reuters reported. 

As part of the deal, xAI will pay Telegram $300 million in a combination of cash and stock, targeting the app’s user base of over one billion to strengthen its position in the fast-growing AI sector.

According to Telegram founder Pavel Durov, the one-year agreement also includes a revenue-sharing component: Telegram will receive 50% of all subscription sales generated through the app. Durov emphasised that xAI will only access data that users deliberately share with Grok during direct interactions.

The deal could provide xAI, which acquired X earlier this year, with valuable data to train and develop its AI models.

With many open-source repositories exhausted, AI companies face increasing challenges in sourcing quality data, pushing firms such as Meta Platforms (META.O), to utilize public interactions with AI for model training.

According to its privacy policy, X uses public posts from users to train its AI models. It was not immediately clear if xAI would utilise data from Telegram similarly.

XAI, which has entered several tie-ups this year to bolster its position in both AI infrastructure and financial services, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.