Elon Musk’s Grok AI Chatbot Enters India

Elon Musk-led xAI is rapidly expanding its generative artificial intelligence (AI)-based chatbot Grok AI into India and 46 other countries including Australia, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore among others, within a week of its US launch.

The bot is currently accessible to subscribers of X Premium+, the top subscription tier of X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. 

xAI’s foray into the Indian market comes at a time when ChatGPT developer OpenAI is navigating the country’s policies and regulations to venture into the AI space. 

X rolled out Grok on December 8. “Access to @grok is now rolling out to Premium+ subscribers in the US over the next week. You can find Grok in the side menu on web, iOS, and Android,” the platform said in a tweet.

Linda Yaccarino, the chief executive of X, said, “Grok is now gracing the world in even more countries, spreading knowledge and laughter far and wide. The future is looking brighter already!”

In October, X launched the Premium+ tier, which offers users an ad-free experience. Priced at $16 per month, subscribers enjoy various benefits, including the ability to edit tweets, post longer text or videos and participate in ad revenue sharing.

For Indian users, the Premium+ tier is available at INR 1,300 per month on the web or INR 2,150 per month on mobile apps.

Grok challenges OpenAI‘s ChatGPT and operates on the Grok-1 AI model. 

It is pertinent to note that Musk was one of the cofounders of OpenAI in 2015 and after three years he stepped down from the company’s board of directors.

Meanwhile, OpenAI is set to host its inaugural developer meetup in Bengaluru next month as the ChatGPT developer looks to penetrate deeper into India’s AI space. 

This comes at a time when Sam Altman’s OpenAI is reportedly partnering with Rishi Jaitly, former Twitter India head, to gain insights into and navigate India’s policies and regulations concerning the AI landscape.

Although OpenAI does not have an official presence in India, it recently secured trademark approval. 

According to IMARC Group, the AI market in India was valued at $680.1 Mn in 2022. Projections suggest a significant growth with an expected market size of $3,935.5 Mn by 2028, showcasing a CAGR of 33.28% from 2023 to 2028. The surge is fuelled by factors such as government initiatives, rapid digitisation, increasing demand for AI solutions across industries and continuous innovations.