Elon Musk’s AI startup, xAI, will make its chatbot, Grok, open-source this week, according to the entrepreneur. This decision comes shortly after Musk sued OpenAI and criticized the Microsoft-backed startup for moving away from its original open-source principles.
xAI introduced Grok last year, equipping it with features such as real-time information access and a perspective that challenges conventional norms. Grok is currently available to subscribers of X’s $16 monthly service.
Musk co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman almost a decade ago to counter Google’s AI dominance. However, Musk alleges that OpenAI, despite its commitment to making its technology freely accessible, has become closed-source and prioritized profits for Microsoft.
The lawsuit has sparked discussions among technologists and investors regarding the value of open-source AI. Vinod Khosla, an early investor in OpenAI, criticized Musk’s legal action as a distraction from the goal of achieving AGI and its benefits.
Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, countered Khosla’s stance, accusing him of advocating against open-source AI research. He emphasized the importance of open-source initiatives in advancing technologies for human well-being.
The announcement that Grok will be open-sourced aligns xAI with other companies like Meta and Mistral, a French startup, that have shared their chatbot codes with the public.
Musk has consistently supported open-source initiatives, as seen with Tesla, which has open-sourced numerous patents. Similarly, X, formerly Twitter, released some of its algorithms as open-source last year.
