Grok’s AI companions drove downloads, but its latest model is the one making money

Grok’s raunchy, unfiltered AI companions whitethorn beryllium making headlines for their unhinged and often NSFW responses, but it’s Grok 4, xAI’s latest model, that’s been driving the app’s gross of late.

Elon Musk’s xAI launched Grok 4 precocious connected July 9, and by Friday, July 11, Grok’s gross gross connected iOS had jumped a whopping 325% to $419,000, up from $99,000 the time earlier the Grok 4 launch, according to app quality steadfast Appfigures.

Image Credits:Appfigures

Grok continued to propulsion successful higher-than-usual gross successful the days pursuing the motorboat of the caller model, with gross gross successful the precocious $367,000s for a mates of days earlier dipping down to $310,000 connected July 14.

In addition, regular downloads of the Grok iOS app had accrued 279% to 197,000 by July 11, up from 52,000 earlier Grok 4 launched.

But pursuing the addition of Grok’s AI companions the adjacent week, connected July 14, the leap successful downloads and gross was little pronounced. While curiosity astir the companions apt drove much installs, the diagnostic isn’t yet poised to beryllium a important money-maker for the company, contempt being lone disposable to “Super Grok” subscribers paying $30 per month.

Grok’s iOS downloads globally were up 40% the time aft the companions launched, reaching 171,000 regular installs, but gross accrued conscionable 9%, hitting $337,000.

So portion it’s wide that determination was an interaction from the launch, it’s decidedly smaller than the motorboat of the caller AI model.

Image Credits:Appfigures

Given Grok’s costly caller subscription offering, timed alongside the Grok 4 launch, it’s not astonishing to spot that adjacent a smaller summation successful the fig of paying subscribers could thrust Grok’s iOS gross importantly higher.

The institution announced that, successful summation to Grok 4 and Grok 4 Heavy, it would besides connection a $300-per-month subscription called SuperGrok Heavy, its priciest program to date. The program offers subscribers aboriginal entree to Grok 4 Heavy and different caller features, xAI said, but it’s much costly than comparable plans from different large AI providers, including OpenAI, Google and Anthropic.

It’s absorbing to spot this request for Grok’s subscription plans, adjacent though the AI was initially consulting Elon Musk’s X posts for answers. xAI has since addressed this issue.

Image Credits:Appfigures

Interest successful the caller exemplary besides drove up Grok’s ranking connected the U.S. App Store soon aft its launch, making Grok the No. 3 apical app overall, and No. 2 successful the Productivity class by July 12.

That involvement has declined somewhat implicit the past week — the app is present No. 17 wide — though it’s inactive No. 2 successful Productivity, Appfigures information shows.

Appfigures notes that it focused connected iOS information for this analysis, arsenic that information acceptable is presently much broad than information from Android devices. The second is lone disposable done July 14 for the clip being, arsenic Appfigures’ exemplary needs much clip to process Google Play data.