Elon Musk’s xAI Launches Grok-3 Chatbot to Compete with OpenAI, Google, and China’s DeepSeek
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, has just released its newest AI chatbot, Grok-3, aiming to challenge big players like OpenAI (backed by Microsoft), Google, and China’s DeepSeek. According to Reuters, this launch comes at a crucial time in the AI race, as DeepSeek recently introduced its own powerful open-source AI model, and Musk is pushing hard to grow xAI’s influence.
Grok-3 is now available to Premium+ subscribers on X, the social media platform Musk owns. xAI is also introducing a new subscription plan called SuperGrok for users accessing the chatbot through its mobile app and website, Grok.com. During a livestream on Monday, Musk, alongside xAI engineers, claimed that Grok-3 is “in a league of its own” and performs better than its earlier version, Grok-2.
Reuters reports that industry experts, like Gil Luria from D.A. Davidson, believe Grok-3 puts xAI back in the competition for leadership in open-source AI models. Luria said Grok-3 outperforms some of the best AI models available today, making xAI a serious contender again. However, he also noted that the improvements over Grok-2 might not be significant enough to justify the huge resources spent on training the new model.
To stay competitive, xAI is expanding its data center capacity to train more advanced AI systems. Its supercomputer cluster in Memphis, Tennessee, named “Colossus,” is said to be the largest in the world.
Grok-3 introduces a new feature called DeepSearch, a smart search engine that can explain its reasoning when answering user questions. During the livestream, xAI demonstrated how DeepSearch can help with research, brainstorming, and data analysis.
In a surprising move last week, Musk and a group of investors offered $97.4 billion to buy OpenAI’s nonprofit assets, but the ChatGPT-maker rejected the offer, Reuters reported. This highlights the intense competition and high stakes in the AI industry.
Musk’s xAI is clearly pushing boundaries, but whether Grok-3 will truly outshine its rivals remains to be seen. For now, the AI race is heating up, and xAI is determined to stay in the game.
Credit: This article is based on reporting by Reuters.