Elon Musk acknowledged on Might 28 that xAI had not signed an settlement with Telegram to distribute the Grok giant language mannequin, regardless of Telegram founder Pavel Duvov’s announcement earlier on the identical day.
Durov wrote that he and Musk “agreed to a one-year partnership” that will place Grok inside all Telegram functions and provides the chat platform “$300 million in money and fairness,” plus half of each Grok subscription bought by way of Telegram.
Musk replied hours in a while X that “no deal has been signed.” Durov acknowledged the purpose, saying the 2 sides had “agreed in precept” whereas “formalities are pending.”
Neither social gathering disclosed a goal date for finishing the ultimate paperwork or launching the undertaking.
Funding push meets company objectives
Telegram carries greater than $1 billion in debt linked to bond points it floated in 2021 and 2023 to fund operations.
Durov, who has lengthy financed the corporate by way of private loans, seeks new earnings streams earlier than a bond maturity subsequent yr.
Below the draft phrases, xAI would wire $300 million to Telegram and place an fairness stake that each corporations declined to quantify. Telegram would additionally obtain a recurring share of Grok charges collected by way of its in-app buy channels.
Musk launched xAI final July to coach Grok on public information and content material licensed from X. The mannequin competes with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, and Google’s Gemini.
A Telegram integration would give Grok an instantaneous attain bigger than X’s roughly 600 million registered accounts.
Musk closes authorities participation
Musk’s assertion on the unsigned contract arrived as he exited his momentary seat on the US Division of Authorities Effectivity, identified internally as DOGE.
The White Home confirmed on Might 28 that the billionaire’s 130-day allotment as a particular authorities worker ends this week. Musk confirmed his departure in a Might 28 X publish, thanking President Donald Trump for the appointment and reiterating his objective of lowering federal spending.
Musk stuffed the designation of “particular authorities worker,” which permits him to work a federal job for 130 days every year. Contemplating Trump’s first day on the White Home on January 20, the designation would expire on the finish of Might.
