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Loading...By Dario Betti, Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF)
There has been a dramatic shift in the global messaging landscape. At the center of this transformation are two platforms, X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram. Each are pursuing ambitious monetization strategies designed to leverage AI, subscriptions, and platform extensions in innovative ways.
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The May 2025 announcement of a $300 million partnership between xAI and Telegram to integrate the Grok AI chatbot into Telegram demonstrates the urgent need both companies have to diversify revenue streams and reshape their business models for sustainability.
The landmark deal highlights how messaging platforms are becoming not just communication tools but revenue engines, where AI features are expected to drive user engagement, subscriptions, and new streams of income way beyond traditional advertising or data sales.
The xAI Telegram deal
The deal was important for both sides. First, it gave cash and monetization opportunities to Telegram. Telegram needs a monetization strategy, and this deal gives it a major financial boost, just as it pursues a planned $1.5 billion bond issue. On the other hand, the deal gives xAI immediate access to Telegram’s 1 billion+ user base; a fast track to scale bot usage and data collection.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced the landmark partnership: xAI (Elon Musk’s AI startup) will pay $300 million in cash and equity to embed its Grok chatbot within Telegram for one year. Telegram will also receive 50% of revenue from xAI subscriptions sold through the platform. “This summer, Telegram users will gain access to the best AI technology on the market,” Durov said, describing the deal as one that “strengthens Telegram’s financial position”.
This comes as Telegram claims over 1 billion monthly users (MAUs) and plans to raise at least $1.5 billion via bonds. What they had to offer to the X and xAI team was the reach that the reincarnation of Twitter seems to have lost in terms of users with X sitting outside the top 10 as the 12th largest social platform, with roughly 600 million monthly users
| Platform | Monthly Active Users | Daily Active Users |
|---|---|---|
| Telegram | 1 billion (Mar 2025) |
~450M (2024) |
| X (Twitter) | ~611M (early 2025) |
~245–300M |
Elon Musk’s xAI acquired X (formerly known as Twitter) on March 28, 2025, as an all-stock transaction. The deal valued X at $33 billion and xAI at $80 billion. xAI is now cash rich and looking for more users. In the AI race, ChatGPT had 400 million weekly users in February 2025, with plans to hit 1 billion users by the end of 2025. xAI needs to scale X reach fast.
In confirmation of xAI’s interest in messaging, X has announced that it will support person-to-person messaging again, via its newest version Xchat.
Telegram’s monetisation strategy: a shift towards AI-driven subscriptions
Telegram has historically positioned itself as an ad-free, privacy-first alternative to WhatsApp and other global messaging platforms. Instead, it has relied on its Telegram Premium subscription service (priced at around $4.99/month) and donations to fund development.
However, the scale of Telegram’s operations requires substantial investment, especially as the platform builds out services such as cloud storage, large file sharing, and secure communications infrastructure.
The partnership with xAI serves a number of monetization purposes for Telegram:
- Immediate cash injection
- xAI’s $300 million payment strengthens Telegram’s financial position, supporting its operational costs and easing reliance on debt financing. This upfront capital is critical as Telegram scales both its infrastructure and feature set.
- Recurring subscription revenue
- Telegram will receive 50% of revenue generated from xAI’s Grok subscriptions sold on the platform, establishing a new, long-term revenue stream. This reduces reliance on its Premium subscription model alone and opens a potential pathway to bundle AI services with Premium for increased value.
- Enhanced user engagement
- Integrating Grok AI into Telegram chats is designed to increase time spent in-app, daily active users (DAUs), and user stickiness—making Telegram’s ecosystem more attractive to both consumers and potential future advertisers or service partners.
- Product differentiation in a crowded market
- By embedding Grok AI, Telegram distinguishes itself from WhatsApp (still gradually rolling out Meta AI) and other secure messaging apps like Signal, which are unlikely to embrace AI features due to their strict privacy policies.
This strategy marks Telegram’s first serious step into AI monetization, thus aligning with global trends that see generative AI as a key driver of platform revenue growth.
X’s monetization strategy: diversification and dependency reduction
Since Elon Musk purchased Twitter (now X), it has been reshaping its revenue model aggressively. Historically dependent on digital advertising (which was more than 90% of its pre-Musk revenue), X has seen a sharp decline in ad income amid concerns about brand safety, content moderation, and Musk’s own controversial public stances.
In response, Musk has launched a subscription-heavy mode. This approach pushes features like X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue), paid verification, and most recently integration with Grok. This multi-faceted approach addresses several key monetization goals:
- Subscription revenue growth:
- X aims to convert as many users as possible to paying subscribers via X Premium, bundling benefits such as longer posts, fewer ads, and now, access to Grok AI. The success of Grok is seen as critical to justify this monthly subscription fee and create perceived value for users.
- xAI monetization beyond X:
- The Telegram deal represents xAI’s first major foray outside the X ecosystem—an essential move as Musk seeks to monetized Grok independently of X’s core platform. This reduces risk by spreading revenue potential across different platforms and user bases.
- Data diversification for AI training:
- Integrating Grok with Telegram also provides xAI (and by extension, X Corp) with a broader conversational data set, crucial for training and improving its AI models. This AI-driven data economy may become a long-term revenue foundation, enabling the development of enterprise AI services or licensing deals.
- New revenue-sharing ecosystem:
- The 50% revenue share with Telegram suggests Musk’s willingness to create a partner-based ecosystem for Grok—potentially expanding to other platforms and apps globally. This could mimic the app store model or cloud marketplace frameworks, where X and xAI collect revenue from multiple front-end providers.
- Long-term AI infrastructure monetization:
- With recent investments such as the Colossus AI supercomputer project in Memphis, xAI is building the capacity to offer large-scale AI services. Expanding Grok’s reach into Telegram helps justify this infrastructure spend by growing the user base that these AI systems serve.
Comparative monetization pressures and risks
While both companies seek to leverage AI for growth, their underlying risks and market dynamics differ:
| Factor | Telegram | X (Twitter) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Revenue Goal | Diversify beyond Premium, attract new subscription income via AI | Replace declining ad revenue with AI-driven subscription and partner income |
| AI Strategy Dependence | Emerging—first large AI partnership (Grok) | Central to monetization plan (Grok embedded in X Premium and beyond) |
| Long-Term Model | Platform-integrated AI features + Premium bundles | AI platform expansion via partner platforms (like Telegram) |
A mutually beneficial AI monetization experiment
This $300 million partnership represents a mutually beneficial experiment for both Telegram and X. For the mobile ecosystem—including telcos and A2P messaging providers—the move signals a broader industry shift: AI-powered monetization will soon be integral to all major messaging platforms, blurring the lines between communication, commerce, and content.
Businesses within the telecoms space must prepare for this AI-driven messaging future. A future where bots, subscriptions, and platform partnerships will reshape both user engagement and revenue models.
Dario Betti is CEO of MEF (Mobile Ecosystem Forum) a global trade body established in 2000 and headquartered in the UK with members across the world. As the voice of the mobile ecosystem, it focuses on cross-industry best practices, anti-fraud and monetization. The Forum provides its members with global and cross-sector platforms for networking, collaboration and advancing industry solutions.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post or content are those of the authors or the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.
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