xAI debuted Grok in November 2023, a chatbot for X Premium+ subscribers pitched as witty and rebellious, with real-time access to posts on X. It was Elon Musk's answer to ChatGPT, built by his new AI company barely four months after its founding.

Grok's X integration gave it a genuine differentiator: answers informed by live social media. In March 2024 xAI open-sourced Grok-1's weights, a surprise move that won goodwill with the open-source community.

The launch established xAI's playbook — move fast, differentiate on X data and personality, and iterate the Grok line aggressively.