Elon Musk’s xAI will pay Telegram $300 million to deploy its Grok chatbot on the platform, as revealed by Telegram founder Pavel Durov in a post on X on Wednesday.
According to Durov, the two companies put pen to paper on a one-year contract that will put Grok in front of the more than one billion Telegram users around the world. In addition, the company behind the messaging app will also be entitled to half of any subscription sales made through the app.
By opening up access to valuable data that could be used to train its models, the partnership gives xAI and Musk a boost in the ongoing AI race. With the US facing stern competition from China, notably the likes of DeepSeek and Manus AI, the news will be warmly welcomed by President Trump, who is determined to compete with the Eastern superpower.
xAI and Telegram Strike Up Grok Partnership
Elon Musk’s xAI startup has been handed a boost in the unfolding AI race. The company on Wednesday announced a one-year partnership with Telegram that will see its Grok chatbot deployed on the messaging platform, whose users exceed one billion.
Writing on X, Telegram founder Pavel Durov said: “This summer…users will gain access to the best AI technology on the market.” He went on to claim that “this also strengthens Telegram’s financial position,” with half of the revenue from xAI subscriptions sold via Telegram promised to the company.
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Telegram exceeded one billion users in 2025, with the company also due to net $1.5 billion in a bond issue, according to reporting in the Wall Street Journal, as its goes from strength to strength. However, Durov is currently under investigation in France, where he resides, facing allegations of allowing criminal activity on the app.
Benefits Potentially Huge for Both Parties
From xAI’s point of view, the move could secure valuable data to train and develop its AI models. While the company did not respond to requests for comment, X trains models on public posts from its users, according to its privacy policy. It’s expected that the company will use Telegram data for the same purpose.
AI companies are currently facing a shortage of open-source repositories for training their models. This has prompted various firms to train their models on public interactions. In April 2025, Meta announced that it would be training its AI models on “the interactions that people have with AI at Meta, as well as public content shared by adults on Meta Products.”
At the same time, the benefits for Telegram are a little more obvious – a guaranteed $300 million in cash and shares, and a significant portion of any potential revenue that xAI makes by tapping into Telegram’s one billion+ user base.
xAI To Blow Competition Out of the Water?
Musk and xAI will hope that the vast amounts of data they’re getting access to – if this is indeed their objective – will hand them a massive boost in the AI race. As our own research indicates, ChatGPT remains the chatbot of choice for most tech businesses in the US that are using AI.
Meanwhile, in its race for global supremacy, the US is facing serious competition from China. In recent months, a series of Chinese innovations has disrupted the AI market, with examples including DeepSeek, Baidu, and Manus AI.
With his resolute determination to ward off the threat from the East, President Trump will hope that Musk’s partnership with Telegram can lay down a marker on the world stage. Musk will hope that it gives him the upper hand over his contemporaries.
