- Microsoft adds xAI’s Grok 3 and Grok 3 Mini to Azure AI Foundry, expanding its hosted AI model offerings beyond OpenAI.
- Grok’s inclusion follows recent controversy over politically charged chatbot responses and internal code tampering at xAI.
- The move may heighten tensions with OpenAI, as Microsoft continues to embrace competing AI models despite their close partnership.
Microsoft has officially added xAI’s Grok 3 and Grok 3 Mini models to its Azure AI Foundry lineup, expanding its collection of hosted artificial intelligence offerings. The announcement came during the company’s Build developer conference, where Microsoft confirmed it will manage the hosting and billing of Grok models, making them available to its internal product teams and enterprise customers via the Azure platform.
The move marks a significant expansion of Azure’s AI capabilities and reinforces Microsoft’s ambition to position itself as the go-to infrastructure provider for leading and emerging AI models. While Microsoft maintains a close partnership with OpenAI, it has also embraced competing models from labs such as DeepSeek and now xAI, indicating a more open and competitive approach to AI model deployment.
The addition of Grok to Azure AI Foundry is the latest in a series of swift integrations driven by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who previously expedited the rollout of DeepSeek R1. According to internal sources, Nadella has been keen to ensure Azure is seen as the top platform for AI model hosting, regardless of the originating lab or internal politics.
Grok’s debut on Azure comes shortly after a controversy involving the chatbot’s response to a sensitive political topic. The model was found pushing contentious narratives about South Africa on the social media platform X, which xAI attributed to unauthorized code changes. A similar incident earlier this year saw the company accuse a former OpenAI employee of manipulating Grok’s behavior, raising ongoing questions about model integrity and internal safeguards.
Tensions between xAI’s founder Elon Musk and OpenAI continue to simmer. Just weeks ago, OpenAI filed a countersuit against Musk, accusing him of using obstructionist legal tactics. The legal battle stems from Musk’s acrimonious departure from the AI company he helped launch. With Grok now integrated into Azure, the rivalry between xAI and OpenAI—and by extension between their respective backers—may only grow more complex.
