?? Elon Musk challenges OpenAI with Grok 3, but still remains in the shadow of GPT-4o ??

?? Grok 3 takes a qualitative leap, but experts still see OpenAI ahead ?? DeepSearch, Grok 3's new tool, aims to enhance research and reasoning ??

Elon Musk has done it again. This Monday, the tech magnate introduced Grok 3, the latest version of the artificial intelligence (AI) model developed by his company xAI. Musk claimed that this new iteration—benefiting from ten times more powerful training than its predecessor—surpasses OpenAI's flagship model, GPT-4o, in various categories. However, early expert reactions suggest that, despite the evident improvements, Grok 3 has yet to dethrone OpenAI’s reign.

One of the most notable aspects of this new version is DeepSearch, a tool designed to improve AI's information retrieval and reasoning capabilities. DeepSearch aims to equip Grok 3 with the ability to process and interpret data with a level of precision never seen before in previous xAI models. According to Andrej Karpathy, former AI director at Tesla and co-founder of OpenAI, this feature is on par with Perplexity AI’s DeepResearch but still lags behind OpenAI’s equivalent tool.

Although xAI has showcased data positioning Grok 3 ahead of GPT-4o in mathematical and scientific benchmarks, experts remind us that these tests are partial and often selected to favor certain models. In the words of Ethan Mollick, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, "It is a very solid frontier model, but not one that would make you stop using your current model."

Gary Marcus, founder of Geometric Intelligence and one of the most critical analysts of generative AI, was even more blunt: "Elon Musk promised that Grok 3 would be the smartest AI in history. Spoiler alert: it is not."

A more powerful model, but not revolutionary

Musk and his team claim that Grok 3 has been trained in a data center with 200,000 GPUs, which should allow it to compete with the best current models. The company has introduced two versions: Grok 3 and Grok 3 Mini, following a strategy similar to OpenAI with GPT-4o and its variants. According to xAI, the most powerful Grok 3 model outperforms GPT-4o in tests such as AIME, which evaluates mathematical ability, and GPQA, specialized in scientific knowledge.

However, one of the major criticisms against xAI is the lack of direct comparisons with o3, OpenAI’s most advanced model. Carlos Santana, an AI analyst, remarks: "If you announce that you have the smartest AI on Earth, maybe you should prove it by comparing it with the best rival."

Elon Musk, the great agitator of the AI sector

Since leaving OpenAI, Musk has sought to compete directly with Sam Altman and his team. With xAI, he aims to build an independent alternative to OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic. However, the reality is that, for now, Grok 3 has yet to dethrone GPT-4o.

Another factor to consider is the integration of Grok 3 within X (formerly Twitter). Currently, access is limited to X Premium+ users, but xAI has announced a new program, SuperGrok, which for $30 a month will provide access to DeepSearch, unlimited image generation, and other advanced features. This strategy highlights Musk’s vision of using Grok 3 to strengthen his digital ecosystem, unlike OpenAI, which focuses on an open API for businesses and developers.

OpenAI rejects Musk’s multibillion-dollar offer

Alongside the technological battle, the rivalry between Elon Musk and OpenAI has escalated significantly. OpenAI has rejected a $97.4 billion offer led by Musk and other investors to acquire the company. The company’s board of directors has stated that OpenAI is not for sale and that any purchase attempt is merely Musk’s way of destabilizing his competition. This move adds to the long-standing dispute between Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who outright rejected the offer with a clear “no, thank you” via X. Meanwhile, Musk continues to insist that OpenAI has betrayed its original mission of benefiting humanity and has denounced its transformation into a for-profit entity.

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