Microsoft is now hosting xAI’s Grok 3 models

I reported successful my Notepad newsletter earlier this month that Microsoft was getting acceptable to big Elon Musk’s Grok AI models, and present it’s official. At Microsoft’s Build developer league today, the institution confirmed it’s expanding its Azure AI Foundry models database to see Grok 3 and Grok 3 mini from xAI.

“These models volition person each the work level agreements (SLAs) Azure customers expect from immoderate Microsoft product,” says Microsoft. The Grok AI models volition beryllium hosted and billed straight by Microsoft, and offered to its ain merchandise teams and customers done its Azure AI Foundry service.

It’s a astonishment summation that could beryllium arguable internally and further inflame tensions with Microsoft’s spouse OpenAI. Microsoft has been steadily increasing its Azure AI Foundry concern implicit the past year, and has been speedy to clasp models from a assortment of AI labs that vie with its OpenAI partner.

In January I reported in Notepad that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had moved with haste to get engineers to trial and deploy DeepSeek R1 arsenic it made headlines astir the world. Engineers didn’t slumber much implicit those days portion they worked overtime to get R1 acceptable for Azure AI Foundry.

Sources archer maine Nadella has been pushing for Microsoft to big Grok, arsenic he’s anxious for Microsoft to beryllium seen as the hosting supplier for immoderate fashionable oregon emerging AI models. Grok is the latest exemplary to articulation the Azure AI Foundry, which is rapidly becoming an important AI work for Microsoft arsenic it seeks to beryllium seen arsenic the level to big AI models for businesses and app developers.

The announcement of Grok connected Azure AI Foundry comes conscionable days aft the chatbot spent hours telling each X user that the assertion of achromatic genocide successful South Africa is highly contentious. xAI blamed the behaviour connected an “unauthorized modification” to Grok’s code. xAI has had a akin occupation earlier this year, erstwhile the institution blamed an unnamed ex-OpenAI employee for pushing a alteration to Grok that saw it disregard immoderate sources that accused Elon Musk oregon Donald Trump of spreading misinformation.

Naturally, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was speedy to poke amusive astatine Grok successful an X station past week. OpenAI countersued Musk earlier this period implicit claims that the Tesla brag is utilizing “bad-faith tactics to dilatory down OpenAI.” Elon Musk and OpenAI person been successful a ineligible spat for months now, aft Musk’s messy breakup with the AI laboratory helium helped to cofound astir 10 years ago.