Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture, xAI, has entered into a $300 million partnership with Telegram to integrate its Grok chatbot into the messaging platform. As part of the year-long agreement, Telegram will also receive 50% of the revenue generated from xAI subscriptions sold through its app. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov described the deal as a move that significantly strengthens the company’s financial position.

The Grok chatbot will be made available to Telegram users starting this summer, offering access to what Durov called “the best AI technology on the market.” This collaboration marks a strategic expansion for both companies—xAI seeks wider distribution for its AI tools, while Telegram boosts its monetization efforts ahead of a planned $1.5 billion bond issue.

Telegram, which surpassed 1 billion monthly users in 2025, remains widely used in regions such as Russia and Ukraine, including by government officials and military personnel. However, the platform and its CEO are currently under scrutiny. Durov is facing legal challenges in France over accusations related to the misuse of the platform for criminal activity. He is currently prohibited from leaving the country without official authorization.

The partnership follows xAI’s recent merger with X, a move that valued Musk’s AI firm at $80 billion. Grok drew criticism earlier this month after a malfunction resulted in it issuing unrelated commentary about racially charged topics. xAI attributed the incident to an unauthorized modification and stated it had taken steps to reinforce the chatbot’s reliability and compliance with its internal policies.