Elon Musk’s xAI Launches Grok 3 Chatbot, Outperforming Rival AI Models
Elon Musk’s xAI has unveiled the latest version of its flagship chatbot, Grok 3, claiming that it surpasses competing products from OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google, and Anthropic in tests of math, science, and coding abilities. The billionaire entrepreneur announced the launch of Grok 3 during a live-streamed event, revealing that the new AI model used ten times the computing power of its predecessor, Grok 2, during development.
Musk touted Grok 3 as “an order of magnitude more capable” than previous versions, stating that it is in a league of its own. The chatbot is available to premium subscribers on X, formerly known as Twitter, and comes equipped with a new tool called “Deep Search,” an AI-powered search engine that provides explanations for its responses to user queries.
While the claims about Grok 3’s performance have not been independently verified, Andrej Karpathy, co-founder of OpenAI, acknowledged that the new chatbot has a state-of-the-art thinking model and performs slightly better than recent releases from DeepSeek and Google.
xAI’s Legal Battle and Future Plans
Founded in 2023, xAI is currently in discussions to raise $10 billion at a valuation of $75 billion, with major investment firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital expected to participate. The launch of Grok 3 coincides with a legal dispute between Musk and Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAI, over the direction of the organization.
Musk, who left OpenAI in 2015 due to disagreements with Altman, is embroiled in a federal antitrust lawsuit against the organization and its key investor, Microsoft. He is seeking to block Altman’s plans to transition OpenAI from a nonprofit to a for-profit entity, and recently made a failed attempt to acquire control of the company for $97.4 billion.
DeepSeek’s Open-Source Chatbot and Controversy
Meanwhile, DeepSeek, a Chinese AI firm, has stirred controversy in the tech sector with the release of an open-source chatbot that rivals US-based models. The company claims that its model was trained at a fraction of the cost of its competitors and without access to Nvidia’s most powerful computer chips, which are restricted by US export controls.
However, skeptics, including Musk, have cast doubts on DeepSeek’s claims, suggesting that the company may possess more advanced technology than it discloses publicly. The competition between xAI, OpenAI, and DeepSeek underscores the intensifying AI arms race and the growing importance of artificial intelligence in the tech industry.
