Elon Musk says xAI will open source Grok 2 after OpenAI launches open AI models

India Today

06-08-2025

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and head of the artificial intelligence startup xAI, announced on Wednesday that the company will make its Grok 2 chatbot open source next week. This decision was disclosed via a post on the social media platform X, where Musk stated, "It's high time we open sourced Grok 2. Will make it happen next week." This step marks a notable departure from the trend towards closed-source AI models currently observed in the industry.advertisementThe announcement from Musk comes at a time when OpenAI has launched two new open-weight AI reasoning models, named GPT-OSS-120b and GPT-OSS-20 b. Unlike fully open-source models, these new offerings from OpenAI do not include full access to training data, source code, or development methods, instead providing only the trained parameters or weights. This move by OpenAI highlights its shift towards a more closed-source model in recent years, which has supported the growth of its commercial offerings, including paid API access for businesses and developers.
OpenAI's earlier years were characterised by a more open-source approach, but this has changed as the company has leaned towards maintaining tighter control over its technologies. This strategy has been instrumental in bolstering their commercial offerings. However, earlier this year, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman acknowledged that the company has been "on the wrong side of history" with respect to open-sourcing its technology. This admission underscores the ongoing debate in the tech community about the balance between open access and proprietary control.In contrast, Musk's xAI has committed to open-sourcing each iteration of its models. "As we create the next version, we open source the prior version, as we did with Grok 1 when Grok 2 was released," Musk had previously mentioned. This approach could foster greater innovation and collaboration within the AI community, offering researchers and developers the opportunity to build upon xAI's existing work.The upcoming release of Grok 2 as an open-source model aligns with Musk's promise made in October 2024 to release the models in this manner. The decision to open source Grok 2 reflects a strategic effort to enhance transparency and community engagement, potentially setting xAI apart in the competitive AI landscape. This move could influence other tech companies to reconsider their stance on the availability of their AI models.The AI industry is witnessing a significant divergence in strategies concerning open source. While some companies like OpenAI are opting for a more closed and commercially-driven model, others like xAI are choosing to promote openness. This difference in approach could have far-reaching implications for innovation, collaboration, and trust within the AI community.Musk's decision to make Grok 2's source code available could be seen as an effort to encourage broader participation and innovation. By making the technology accessible, xAI is potentially lowering barriers for new entrants and enabling more developers to contribute to AI research and applications. This move could accelerate the development of AI technologies and their integration across various sectors.Overall, the decision by xAI to open source Grok 2 could set a new precedent in the AI industry and encourage a shift towards greater transparency and collaboration. As the industry continues to evolve, the actions of companies like xAI will be closely watched and could have significant implications for the future direction of artificial intelligence development and deployment.- EndsTune InMust Watch