Microsoft and Elon Musk have announced a new partnership that will bring Grok the AI chatbot made by xAI to Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform. Musk joined Microsoft’s annual Build conference through a pre-recorded video to share the news with CEO Satya Nadella who praised the collaboration during the broadcast. 

This surprise move comes while Musk is still in a legal dispute with Microsoft and OpenAI over how the AI company was developed and how it operates today. Musk was one of the original founders of OpenAI but left the project years ago and has since launched xAI which created Grok. Despite their rivalry Musk’s chatbot will now run on the same platform that supports models from OpenAI and other global AI companies. The Grok model has been in the news for unwanted responses linked to race and politics on X which xAI blamed on unauthorized changes by a staff member.

Microsoft Expands AI Portfolio amid Legal Tensions

The deal adds Grok to a growing list of AI tools available on Microsoft’s Azure platform as the company continues to lead in AI infrastructure. Along with Grok Azure now supports tools from Meta Mistral Black Forest Labs and DeepSeek giving developers access to a wide range of AI technologies. While Musk did not speak on the recent Grok controversy during the event he emphasized the need for transparency in AI. 

“Honesty is the best policy especially when it comes to AI safety,” Musk said. 

The partnership signals a new phase in the complex relationship between Musk Microsoft and the broader AI community even as legal battles continue in the background.