Telegram has secured a $300 million investment from Elon Musk’s xAI to integrate the Grok chatbot across its messaging platform, offering a major new revenue stream and expanding AI capabilities for its 900 million users
[dropcap]P[/dropcap]opular social media app, Telegram, has secured a $300 million investment from Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, to bring the Grok chatbot to its popular messaging platform.
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The groundbreaking deal was announced by Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, through a post on his X handle.
According to Durov, the partnership includes a mix of cash and equity investment, marking 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, making it accessible across all apps on the platform. Telegram will also receive 50% of all xAI subscription revenue generated through its app.
This deal signals a broader rollout for Grok, which had previously been available only to Telegram Premium users.
This also strengthens Telegram’s financial position: we will receive $300M in cash and equity from xAI, plus 50 per cent of the revenue from xAI subscriptions sold via Telegram. Together, we win.
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 utilize it for tasks like summarizing chats and documents, providing writing suggestions, and creating stickers.
The AI tool is also being positioned as a business assistant, offering features aimed at answering customer queries and supporting content moderation.
functions are expected to appeal to Telegram’s growing base of entrepreneurs and community managers.
This move by Telegram mirrors similar developments from Meta, which recently rolled out its own Meta AI in the search bars of Instagram and WhatsApp.
This highlights the intensifying competition among tech giants to embed generative AI directly into everyday messaging platforms, transforming user interaction.
The partnership offers Telegram a crucial new revenue stream at a time when the platform is actively exploring diverse monetization avenues beyond traditional advertising and premium subscriptions.
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With over 900 million users globally, Telegram’s vast platform provides xAI with a massive distribution channel for Grok, particularly in markets where AI tools are rapidly gaining popularity.
Peculiar Adirika is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
