Grok AI: New Model Drives Revenue Growth

Grok 4 Drives Revenue Surge for xAI

While the provocative AI companions within Grok have garnered attention for their unconventional and sometimes explicit responses, it is Grok 4, xAI’s most recent model, that is currently the primary contributor to the application’s financial gains.

Significant Revenue Increase Following Grok 4 Launch

xAI, spearheaded by Elon Musk, released Grok 4 on July 9th. By July 11th, a substantial 325% increase in gross revenue on iOS was observed, reaching $419,000. This represents a considerable jump from the $99,000 earned the day prior to the new model’s introduction, as reported by app intelligence firm Appfigures.

The elevated revenue levels persisted in the days following the launch of the updated model. Gross revenue remained above $367,000 for several days before decreasing to $310,000 on July 14th.

Download Numbers Also Saw a Boost

Daily downloads of the Grok iOS application experienced a 279% increase, climbing to 197,000 by July 11th, compared to 52,000 downloads before the release of Grok 4.

AI Companions Impact Downloads, But Not Revenue

The introduction of Grok’s AI companions the following week, on July 14th, resulted in a less dramatic surge in both downloads and revenue. Although the companions likely stimulated more installations, this feature has not yet become a major revenue generator for the company.

Access to these companions is limited to “Super Grok” subscribers, who pay a monthly fee of $30. Grok’s iOS downloads globally increased by 40% the day after the companions were launched, reaching 171,000 daily installs. However, revenue only saw a 9% increase, reaching $337,000.

This indicates that the impact of the new AI model’s launch was considerably more significant than that of the companion feature.

Subscription Pricing and Revenue Correlation

Considering Grok’s newly introduced, more expensive subscription options, coinciding with the Grok 4 launch, it’s understandable that even a modest increase in paying subscribers can substantially elevate Grok’s iOS revenue.

Alongside Grok 4 and Grok 4 Heavy, the company announced a $300-per-month subscription tier called SuperGrok Heavy, its most expensive plan to date. This plan provides subscribers with early access to Grok 4 Heavy and other new features, according to xAI. However, it is priced higher than comparable offerings from leading AI providers like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.

Initial Data Source Concerns Addressed

It is noteworthy to observe the demand for Grok’s subscription plans, particularly given initial reports that the AI was referencing Elon Musk’s X posts for responses. xAI has since resolved this issue.

App Store Ranking Improvement

The interest generated by the new model also led to an improvement in Grok’s ranking on the U.S. App Store. Shortly after its launch, Grok became the No. 3 overall app and No. 2 in the Productivity category by July 12th.

While this ranking has declined somewhat in the past week – the app is now No. 17 overall – it remains No. 2 in the Productivity category, according to Appfigures data.

Data Focus on iOS

Appfigures clarifies that its analysis primarily focuses on iOS data, as this dataset is currently more comprehensive than data from Android devices. Android data is currently only available through July 14th, as Appfigures’ model requires additional time to process Google Play data.