Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has unveiled its latest AI model, Grok 3, touting significant improvements and claiming it outperforms leading competitors in early testing.
Key Details of the Launch
- Grok 3 was demonstrated in a livestream on Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on February 17, 2025.
- xAI says Grok 3 is “an order of magnitude more capable” than its predecessor Grok 2.
- The model was reportedly trained using 10 times more computing power than Grok 2.
- Early access is available to X Premium+ subscribers in the U.S. starting February 18.
Performance Claims
xAI claims Grok 3 outperformed rival models from companies like OpenAI, Google, and DeepSeek in blind tests across areas including:
- Mathematical reasoning
- Scientific knowledge
- Coding abilities
However, these claims have not yet been independently verified.
New Features
- A “Deep Search” capability that scans the web and X posts to analyze information and deliver summaries in response to queries.
- Voice interaction with Grok 3 is expected to be added within about a week.
Availability and Pricing
- X Premium+ subscribers ($50/month) get first access to Grok 3.
- A new “SuperGrok” subscription tier will offer additional features for $30/month or $300/year.
Expert Reactions
Andrej Karpathy, former AI director at Tesla, gave Grok 3 a “quick vibe check” on X, praising its reasoning capabilities but critiquing its sense of humor and sensitivity to ethical issues.
Context and Competition
The launch comes amid intense competition in the AI space:
- xAI is reportedly seeking to raise $10 billion at a $75 billion valuation.
- Musk recently made an unsuccessful $97.4 billion offer to acquire control of rival OpenAI.
- Chinese company DeepSeek has made waves with models claimed to rival OpenAI’s capabilities.
Outlook
While xAI’s claims about Grok 3 are bold, independent testing will be needed to verify its true capabilities compared to other leading AI models. The launch represents Musk’s latest attempt to establish xAI as a major player in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence landscape.
