So far, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook have benefitted from the integration of Meta AI into their platforms, bringing AI-powered features to their extensive user base. Now Telegram, the popular messaging up, has taken a page put of Meta’s book by securing a one-year partnership with xAI, Elon Musk’s AI firm, wherein its Grok chatbot will be integrated across Telegram’s platforms and reach more than a billion users.
Under the agreement, xAI will pay Telegram $300 million in a combination of cash and equity. Additionally, Telegram is set to receive 50% of the revenue generated from Grok subscriptions sold directly through its app. Durov stated in a post on X that this collaboration would provide Telegram users access to the AI chatbot starting this summer. The announcement comes as Telegram is reportedly planning to raise at least $1.5 billion through a bond issue on Wednesday, with strong support from both new and existing investors, including BlackRock.
“Telegram and xAI have agreed to a 1-year partnership to distribute Grok to Telegram’s billion+ users and integrate it into its apps. Telegram will receive $300M in cash and equity from xAI, plus 50% of revenue from xAI subscriptions sold via Telegram. Together, we win!” Durov announced in a post on X.
Grok will be integrated directly into Telegram’s applications, making it accessible through features such as a dedicated search bar query option and the ability to pin it on top of chats. This means that users will be able to o ask questions and receive up-to-date answers directly within the Telegram app. This transforms Telegram’s search bar into a powerful AI-driven query tool, making it easier to find information without leaving the app.
In addition to this, the chatbot can offer a range of features – for example, it will be able to summarize long chat conversations, links, and even documents, saving users time and helping them quickly grasp key information. For composing messages, emails, or other text, Grok can also offer AI-powered writing assistance, as well as create stickers, and potentially assist businesses with queries and moderation. This strategy takes a page out of similar initiatives by other tech giants, such as Meta, which has incorporated its Meta AI into search bars on platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp.
For xAI, this partnership marks an aggressive distribution strategy in the rapidly expanding AI chatbot market, where it competes with rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic. Accessing Telegram’s massive user base (which surpassed 1 billion monthly active users this year) provides Grok with an immediate and vast audience. The deal could also offer xAI valuable opportunities to gather data for training and developing its AI models, which is a growing challenge for AI companies as traditional open-source repositories become exhausted. While xAI’s privacy policy for its social media platform X (which xAI acquired earlier this year) indicates it uses public posts for AI training, it was not immediately clear if xAI would utilize data from Telegram similarly.
