Microsoft Set to Host Elon Musk’s Grok AI
Microsoft is preparing to host Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot through its Azure cloud platform, according to a report by The Verge. The company has been in recent discussions with Musk’s AI startup, xAI, aiming to integrate the model into Azure’s offerings for both developers and internal product teams.
Grok to Join Azure AI Foundry
As per the report, Grok will be featured on Azure AI Foundry Microsoft’s dedicated platform for developers. This platform allows users to access, deploy, and manage AI-powered applications more efficiently. By incorporating Grok, Microsoft expands its growing AI model portfolio, offering customers more flexibility in choosing models beyond those from OpenAI.
Although Microsoft and xAI have not officially confirmed the collaboration, sources familiar with the plans suggest the agreement could be significant. However, the scope may be limited; Microsoft is expected to provide hosting capacity for Grok, but not infrastructure for training future models.
The nature of the partnership whether exclusive or open to other cloud providers remains uncertain. The Verge notes that other companies like Amazon Web Services might also be contenders for hosting Grok.
Strategic Moves Amid Industry Feud
The partnership comes amid growing tension between Elon Musk and OpenAI, the AI company he co-founded but left in 2018. Musk filed a lawsuit last year, accusing OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman of straying from their nonprofit roots and prioritizing corporate gain. OpenAI has since countersued Musk, escalating the legal feud.
Meanwhile, Microsoft OpenAI’s largest investor has begun testing alternatives to reduce its dependency on the startup. Reports indicate that Microsoft has explored models from Meta, xAI, and China’s DeepSeek. In fact, DeepSeek’s R1 model was added to Azure and GitHub shortly after gaining widespread attention.
