Social media app, Telegram, has secured a $300 million investment from Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, in a deal that will bring the Grok chatbot to the popular messaging platform.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced the deal on Wednesday via a post on his X handle.
According to Durov, the partnership includes a mix of cash and equity investment and marks a significant collaboration in the rapidly evolving AI messaging space.
As part of the agreement, Grok will be integrated into Telegram’s app ecosystem for one year and made accessible across apps on the platform. Telegram will also receive 50% of all xAI subscription revenue generated through its app.
Grok goes mainstream on Telegram
While Grok had previously been available only to Telegram Premium users, the new deal signals a broader rollout.
- Durov shared a promotional video on X (formerly Twitter), showcasing how users will be able to pin Grok to the top of chats, ask it questions directly from the search bar, and use it for tasks like summarizing chats and documents, writing suggestions, and creating stickers.
- The AI tool is also being positioned as a business assistant, with features aimed at answering customer queries and supporting content moderation, functions that could appeal to Telegram’s growing base of entrepreneurs and community managers.
- This move mirrors similar developments from Meta, which recently rolled out its own Meta AI in the search bars of Instagram and WhatsApp, highlighting the intensifying competition to embed generative AI into everyday messaging platforms.
Strategic win for Telegram
The partnership offers Telegram a new revenue stream at a time when it is exploring monetization avenues beyond advertising and premium subscriptions.
With over 900 million users globally, Telegram’s platform offers xAI a massive distribution channel for Grok, especially in markets where AI tools are gaining popularity.
Last December, Durok declared that Telegram had become profitable with revenue crossing $1 billion in 2024.
At the time, the company, which launched its premium subscription service in 2022, had 12 million paid users.
Durov also said that the app was finishing the year with more than $500 million in cash reserves, without counting its crypto assets.
- Meanwhile, Telegram’s successes came amid weighty accusations of poor content moderation on the messaging app, which allegedly made the platform a haven for terrorists and drug traffickers.
- These allegations led to the arrest of Durov in France on August 24, 2024, upon touching down at the airport to honour French President Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to dinner.
He was later granted conditional release on a bail of five million euros and on the condition that he must report to a police station twice a week as well as remaining in France.
