Microsoft May Host Elon Musk’s Grok AI on Azure Amid OpenAI Tensions
According to a new report by The Verge, Microsoft is reportedly preparing to host Grok, the artificial intelligence model developed by Elon Musk’s xAI. The move could significantly reshape the landscape of enterprise AI offerings, as Microsoft continues to diversify beyond OpenAI, its primary AI partner.
Grok Set to Join Azure AI Foundry
The report mentions that Microsoft has reportedly initiated talks with Musk’s xAI regarding incorporating Grok into its Azure AI Foundry platform. The platform by Microsoft gives developers access to the tools and infrastructure required to run, host, and scale AI-driven applications.
If the talks go well and the acquisition closes, Grok might become accessible to Microsoft’s internal product teams and external customers using Azure. So far, neither Microsoft nor xAI has made official statements regarding the collaboration.
The move comes amid increased tension between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, had quit the organization in 2018 and condemned its turnaround towards commercial aspirations. He filed a suit against OpenAI for betraying its original mission. OpenAI returned with a countersuit in March.
Also read: OpenAI Enhances ChatGPT with Personalized AI Shopping Tool
Not a Training Partnership—Yet
The reported arrangement would allow Microsoft to provide hosting capacity for Grok, but not infrastructure for training future models. Whether Microsoft will land an exclusive deal or cloud rivals like Amazon Web Services (AWS) will also gain access to host Grok remains unclear.
Microsoft has been actively testing AI models beyond OpenAI. It has evaluated models from Meta, DeepSeek, and xAI for possible use in its Copilot AI assistant. Just weeks ago, Microsoft made DeepSeek’s R1 model available through Azure and GitHub following its rise in popularity.
Microsoft’s interest in Grok underscores a broader strategy. The tech giant is investing in in-house AI capabilities and expanding its model portfolio to reduce dependency on OpenAI. Hosting Grok would also leverage Microsoft in a rapidly evolving AI race, especially as the company prepares for increased competition in the enterprise AI infrastructure market.
With Grok joining Azure's growing AI model library, Microsoft could soon offer customers one of the most diverse AI model ecosystems available through a single cloud platform.
