The conversation app Telegram has announced a partnership with Elon Musk owned xAI.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov revealed that xAI owned AI assistant Grok will be integrated into the Telegram app and available to its billions of users.
As part of the deal, which is set to last a year, Telegram will receive £223m and equity from xAI, as well as 50 percent revenue from any xAI subscriptions sold through the app.
This isn’t the first major integration of AI into messaging applications. Meta also recently incorporated its own Meta AI into WhatsApp, letting users generate text, create images and ask questions – igniting privacy concerns amongst some users.
Audiences have looked to the partnership as a joining of two controversial tech companies.
Telegram is known for its end-to-end encryption, security and secret chats, meaning that, in some cases, it’s become popular for criminal activities.
Durov was arrested in August 2024 for allegedly failing to put parameters in place to prohibit illegal activity on the conversation app. However, the tech company rejected claims it wasn’t blocking this activity sufficiently.
Musk is also a controversial figure, both inside and outside the AI space, having co-founded OpenAI and subsequently entered a feud with the firm’s CEO and fellow co-founder Sam Altman.
Musk was also a prominent figure in the re-election of President Donald Trump, and was named an official advisor to the President. Musk announced yesterday he would be leaving the Trump administration.
