Grok 3 is here and Musk says it’s 10x smarter: Is he right?

Elon Musk announced Grok 3, the latest version of xAI’s chatbot, on Monday, claiming it to be “an order of magnitude more capable than Grok 2.” The announcement coincides with Musk’s ongoing rivalry with OpenAI, marked by lawsuits and a rejected bid to take over the nonprofit for $97.4 billion.

During a livestream discussion, Musk emphasized xAI’s mission to understand the universe. He indicated that Grok 3 features advanced reasoning capabilities, which will be further enhanced through reinforcement learning. Musk commented, “We’re seeing the beginnings of creativity,” showcasing Grok 3’s ability to solve complex tasks, such as solving a physics problem and creating a new game combining elements of Bejeweled and Tetris.

In the forthcoming weeks, xAI will launch the Grok 3 API, which includes the reasoning model and a feature called DeepSearch, described as a new kind of search engine with agent-like capabilities. A subscription service named “SuperGrok” will provide users with advanced access to Grok’s functionalities, alongside the introduction of a mini version of the reasoning model.

Musk mentioned that Grok 3’s reasoning model is currently in beta, with expected imperfections at launch. He advised users seeking a more refined experience to wait, following the removal of a planned voice mode from the release due to its “patchy” quality.

In benchmarks against competitors, Musk claimed Grok 3 surpassed models like Google Gemini, DeepSeek’s V3, Anthropic’s Claude, and OpenAI’s GPT-4o. The new model reportedly has over ten times the compute power of its predecessor, completing its pre-training in early January 2023. Musk noted that model improvements occur daily, with visible changes in just 24 hours.

Musk says Grok 3 is “scary smart”—but how does it work?

DeepSearch, a distinct feature of Grok 3, functions as a reasoning chatbot that articulates its understanding process and response planning. It includes options for various applications, including research and data analysis, as demonstrated in the livestream.

Grok 3 will be available immediately for Premium+ subscribers on X, while the SuperGrok subscription will be accessible via the Grok mobile app and Grok.com website. Musk’s xAI startup, launched in 2023, serves as an alternative to OpenAI, which Musk has critiqued for its transition to a for-profit model.

Musk has previously filed two lawsuits against OpenAI, citing that the company strayed from its founding principles. His recent bid to acquire OpenAI’s nonprofit arm was rejected, with OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman labeling it a tactic to hinder progress. After departing from OpenAI’s board in 2018, Musk has publicly expressed his concerns about the organization.

xAI recently entered discussions to raise approximately $10 billion, projecting a valuation near $75 billion, up from a previous valuation of $51 billion. Meanwhile, OpenAI is reportedly seeking to raise up to $40 billion, which could elevate its valuation to around $300 billion.

Despite capital-intensive operations, challenges from emerging technologies persist. Last month, Chinese AI firm DeepSeek launched an open-source model, R1, which competes effectively against leading U.S. AI technologies at a lower development cost.

Grok 3, hailed as the “smartest AI on Earth” by Musk, is anticipated to utilize xAI’s Colossus supercomputer, which has been engineered in over eight months, reportedly housing more than 100,000 Nvidia GPU hours for AI model training. Grok 2, its predecessor, debuted in August 2022, and access to Grok AI is available free for users signing up on X.

Featured image credit xAI