Elon Musk’s xAI to open-source chatbot Grok, rivals ChatGPT

Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, is set to open-source Grok, its chatbot that rivals ChatGPT, later this week.

Grok was released by xAI last year, equipped with features such as access to “real-time” information and perspectives that challenge a “politically correct” approach. The service is currently available to customers subscribing to X’s $16 monthly plan.

Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI nearly a decade ago with Sam Altman, initially aimed to counter Google’s dominance in artificial intelligence. However, Musk filed a lawsuit late last month, alleging that OpenAI, which was mandated to make its technology “freely available” to the public, has become closed-source and shifted its focus to maximizing profits for Microsoft. Musk criticized OpenAI for not adhering to its initial charter, which aimed to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.

The lawsuit has sparked a debate among technologists and investors regarding the advantages of open-source AI. Vinod Khosla, whose firm is among the early backers of OpenAI, referred to Musk’s legal action as a “massive distraction from the goals of getting to AGI and its benefits.”

Despite the ongoing lawsuit, xAI’s commitment to open-source Grok aligns with Musk’s long-standing advocacy for open-source initiatives. Tesla, another company led by Musk, has open-sourced numerous patents, and xAI, formerly known as Twitter, also made some of its algorithms open-source last year.

This move puts xAI in the company of other growing firms, including Meta and French startup Mistral, that have shared the source codes of their chatbots with the public.