Elon Musk's AI Startup XAI Opens Grok for Business

Grok, the model built by Elon Musk’s xAI startup, is now available. The model is now open source and it can be used to power commercial applications.

Officially titled Grok-1, the model is 314 billion parameters in size. It is a mixture of experts (MoE) system, meaning it creates a response to a query based on multiple expert networks or learners dividing up an idea.

Available today are the raw base model checkpoints for Grok-1, so out of the box, it is not fine-tuned for any specific application. Instead, users can build atop it, using it as a basis for further development.

Grok is over four times the size of the popular open-source model Llama 2, so requires a machine with enough GPU memory to test it.

It is designed to challenge ChatGPT without as many filters. The team behind it claims to have modeled Grok after the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. “It is intended to answer almost anything and, far harder, even suggest what questions to ask,” a November announcement reads.

XAI has not made information on Grok’s training data available, however. The startup trained the model from scratch using a custom training stack. XAI took just four months to build the model, leveraging its PromptIDE platform to quickly build and refine prompts for use in training.

Related:Meet Grok: Elon Musk's No Filter, Sarcastic ChatGPT Rival

XAI Grok Released on GitHub

You can access Grok via GitHub.

Based on its Apache 2.0 license, business users can use Grok to build commercial applications.

However, the terms of the Grok license state that users must include a copy of the license when redistributing it.

The license also does not provide any warranties, meaning xAI would not be liable for any damages arising from its use.

Open AI Research Principles

The open release of Grok follows Musk filing suit against OpenAI over claims its deal with Microsoft breached the startup’s founding agreement to remain an AI research nonprofit.

Musk believes that it is better for AI safety that research is kept open. Patrik Backman, general partner at venture capital firm OpenOcean said that this represents Musk putting his principles into action.

“If you sue OpenAI for transforming into a profit-driven organization, you must be prepared to adhere to the same ideals. However, the reality remains that many startups are tired of larger corporations exploiting their open-source software and that not every company has the same options as the billionaire-backed xAI,” said Backman.

“As we saw with HashiCorp or MongoDB’s strategic licensing decisions, navigating the balance between open innovation and financial sustainability is complex. Open-source projects, especially those with the potential to redefine our relationship with technology, must carefully consider their licensing models to ensure they are able to operate while staying true to their core ethos. These models should facilitate innovation, true, but they should also guard against the monopolization of technologies that have the potential to permanently impact humanity.”

Related:How Elon Musk's AI Startup Built the Grok Chatbot in 4 Months