On February 17, 2025, Elon Musk’s AI firm, xAI, unveiled its new AI model, Grok 3, which represents a huge leap in artificial intelligence. Grok 3 seeks to match or surpass other top models such as OpenAI’s GPT-4o and Google’s Gemini. The model provides several upgrades over the previous model, Grok 2, such as the capability to interpret images, respond to questions, and power various features on Musk’s social media network, X.
Major Features and Enhancements of Grok 3
Grok 3 is much more powerful than Grok 2. It has been produced with a decade more of computational power, with a massive Memphis data center containing about 200,000 GPUs to enable it to be trained.
Musk explained that Grok 3 was developed with a larger dataset, including court case filings, to give it more ability. Musk described Grok 3 as considerably more “truth-seeking,” providing answers that value accuracy over adherence to politically correct norms.
The Grok 3 family comprises a range of models, including Grok 3 mini, which is intended to provide quicker responses at the cost of some precision. Although not all the features are live yet, the launch has already started, with additional features likely to be rolled out in the next few months.
Performance Benchmarks and Comparisons
xAI claims that Grok 3 surpasses OpenAI’s GPT-4o in various benchmarks, including AIME (which evaluates mathematical capabilities) and GPQA (which tests the model on PhD-level problems in physics, biology, and chemistry). Grok 3 also showed competitive performance in the Chatbot Arena, a crowdsourced test where users vote on AI model responses.
In addition, Grok 3 introduces specialized reasoning models, including Grok 3 Reasoning and Grok 3 mini Reasoning, which are designed to carefully think through complex problems. These models are particularly useful for mathematics, science, and programming questions, as they aim to fact-check their responses to avoid errors. According to xAI, Grok 3 Reasoning outperforms OpenAI’s o3-mini-high on several benchmarks, including the new AIME 2025.
New Features: DeepSearch and Voice Mode
One of the exciting new features of Grok 3 is DeepSearch, which is xAI’s response to AI-powered research tools like OpenAI’s deep research. DeepSearch allows users to ask Grok 3 to scan the internet and X for relevant information, providing an abstract or summary of the findings. This feature is particularly useful for research and academic purposes, offering a fast and accurate way to gather insights from vast amounts of data.
In the future, xAI plans to introduce a “voice mode” for Grok 3. This mode will give Grok models a synthesized voice, enabling users to interact with the AI using speech. Additionally, Grok 3 will be made available through xAI’s enterprise API in the coming weeks, which will allow businesses and developers to integrate Grok’s capabilities into their systems.
Subscription Plans: Premium+ and SuperGrok
Access to Grok 3 will first be granted to X’s Premium+ subscribers, who pay $50 monthly. xAI is also launching a new plan, SuperGrok, for $30 monthly or $300 annually. SuperGrok will grant users access to more features, including unlimited image generation, reasoning, and more sophisticated DeepSearch queries. These plans are meant to suit both individual users and companies, with the ability to access Grok’s powerful tools based on their requirements.
Future Plans: Open-Sourcing Grok 2
In the future, Musk announced that he would open-source Grok 2 within the next few months. According to him, xAI would make Grok 2 available once Grok 3 is at a stable and mature state. This open-sourcing will likely enable the wider developer community to work with the capabilities of Grok 2 and contribute to its development further, making the technology available to more people and speeding up innovation.
Conclusion: Grok 3 is a Giant Step in AI Technology
With the launch of Grok 3, xAI has released an AI model that sets new standards for existing technology. With enhanced reasoning, image understanding, and research capabilities, Grok 3 is a giant leap in artificial intelligence.
As additional features roll out and get into users’ hands, Grok 3 can revolutionize the way users interact with AI models, be it personal usage or commercial deployment. With capabilities to support higher-level reasoning, more precise research tools, and voice capabilities, Grok 3 may turn the world of AI use upside down and prove to be an invaluable resource both for individuals and businesses.
