Elon Musk’s xAI is paying messaging platform Telegram a huge amount of money to introduce its AI chatbot Grok to its users.
CEO Pavel Durov tweeted on X (formerly Twitter) that Telegram “will receive $300m (£223m) in cash and equity from xAI, plus 50 percent of the revenue from xAI subscriptions sold via Telegram.”
It comes after Meta’s AI chatbot (Meta AI) had been integrated into Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp in various markets including the UK, US and Australia (but not Europe) last year.
🔥 This summer, Telegram users will gain access to the best AI technology on the market. @elonmusk and I have agreed to a 1-year partnership to bring xAI’s @grok to our billion+ users and integrate it across all Telegram apps 🤝
💪 This also strengthens Telegram’s financial… pic.twitter.com/ZPK550AyRV
— Pavel Durov (@durov) May 28, 2025
Bolstering financials
Now Telegram has copied the move and Durov tweeted that the $300m from Musk’s xAI “strengthens Telegram’s financial position…Together, we win❤️📈.”
Durov on also sought to address privacy concerns raised about the year-long development. Some people raised concerns that Telegram data could be used to train Grok as part of the deal.
“User privacy is paramount. To be clear, xAI will only access data that Telegram users explicitly share with Grok through direct interactions,” he tweeted. “That’s expected – you can’t message anyone (including a chatbot) without sharing what you write.”
Privacy concerns aside, the deal will allow xAI to gain access to a huge userbase, even if Elon Musk has had to pay heavily for the privilege.
Telegram passed 1 billion monthly users in 2025, which is nearly double the 600 million monthly active users on Musk’s X platform.
Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported that Telegram is set to raise at least $1.5 billion in a bond issue on Wednesday.
French investigation
But not everything is going Telegram’s way.
Earlier this week it was revealed that Vietnam’s technology ministry had instructed telecoms operators to block the app for not co-operating in criminal investigations.
Telegram, based in Dubai, also told investors its revenues reached $1.4bn last year, up from $343m a year earlier, going from a $173m loss in 2023 to its first annual profit.
Meanwhile the platform and Pavel Durov continue to be investigated by French authorities over the company’s alleged failure to address criminal activity including child abuse, drug trafficking, fraud and terrorism on its platform.
The tech founder was briefly placed under arrest in France last year over the charges.
Following his arrest in August, Durov had been barred from leaving France without authorisation, but in March 2025 Durov was allowed to temporarily leave the country, providing he returned by 7 April.
Durov potentially faces up to 10 years in prison for the charges.
He has previously criticised French authorities for his arrest, saying he cannot be held personally responsible for activities carried out on the platform.
