Recent reports have confirmed that Microsoft will be hosting Elon Musk’s Grok AI models, a move officially announced during the company’s Build developer conference. The tech giant revealed that it is expanding its Azure AI Foundry to include both Grok 3 and Grok 3 Mini from xAI.
According to Microsoft, “These models will have all the service level agreements (SLAs) Azure customers expect from any Microsoft product.” Grok AI models will be managed and billed directly through Microsoft, made accessible to both the company’s product teams and customers via the Azure AI Foundry service.
The introduction of these models has sparked discussions, as it may lead to internal controversy and potentially strain Microsoft’s relationship with its partner OpenAI. Over the past year, Microsoft has been actively enhancing its Azure AI Foundry business and has been quick to incorporate models from various AI labs that compete with OpenAI.
Earlier in January, reports indicated that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had expedited efforts to have engineers test and deploy DeepSeek R1, which garnered significant media attention. Engineers reportedly worked long hours to ready R1 for Azure AI Foundry.
Sources indicate that Nadella is enthusiastic about Microsoft hosting Grok, aiming for the company to be recognized as the go-to platform for any prominent or emerging AI models. Grok’s addition to Azure AI Foundry is seen as a strategic move in establishing Microsoft as a key player in hosting AI solutions for businesses and app developers.
The timing of the Grok announcement coincides with recent controversies surrounding the chatbot’s statements on social media, where it reportedly made contentious comments regarding issues in South Africa. xAI attributed this behavior to an “unauthorized modification” to Grok’s code. Earlier this year, the company faced similar challenges, blaming an unnamed former employee of OpenAI for changes made to Grok that dismissed any claims regarding misinformation linked to Elon Musk or Donald Trump.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently took the opportunity to mock Grok in a post on X platform. OpenAI has also filed a countersuit against Musk, accusing him of employing deceptive practices to hinder their operations. The legal conflict between Musk and OpenAI has continued for months following Musk’s complex split from the organization he helped establish nearly a decade ago.
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