Grok's AI Chatbots Drove Downloads, But New Model Drives Revenue

While Grok's provocative and unfiltered AI companions gain attention for their unrestrained and often explicit responses, it's the release of Grok 4, xAI's newest model, that has recently fueled the app's revenue growth.

According to app intelligence firm Appfigures, Elon Musk's xAI released Grok 4 on the evening of July 9. By Friday, July 11, Grok's gross iOS revenue surged by an impressive 325%, reaching $419,000 compared to $99,000 the day before Grok 4's launch.

In the days following the new model's launch, Grok maintained elevated revenue, generating over $367,000 for several days before declining to $310,000 on July 14.

Daily downloads of the Grok iOS app also saw a significant boost, increasing 279% to 197,000 by July 11 from 52,000 prior to the Grok 4 release.

The following week, with the introduction of Grok's AI companions on July 14, the surge in downloads and revenue was less dramatic. Although interest in the companions likely spurred more installations, this feature has not yet become a major revenue driver for the company, despite being exclusive to "Super Grok" subscribers paying $30 per month.

The day after the companions launched, Grok's global iOS downloads increased by 40%, reaching 171,000 daily installs, while revenue rose only 9% to $337,000.

Therefore, while the companion launch had a noticeable effect, its impact was significantly smaller than the rollout of the new AI model.

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Considering Grok's new premium subscription tier, introduced alongside Grok 4, it's understandable that even a modest rise in paying subscribers could substantially boost Grok's iOS revenue.

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

The demand for Grok's subscription plans is noteworthy, especially since the AI initially relied on Elon Musk's X posts for generating responses. xAI has since resolved this limitation.

Interest in the new model also boosted Grok's standing on the U.S. App Store shortly after its release, propelling the app to No. 3 overall and No. 2 in the Productivity category by July 12.

This interest has moderated in the past week, with the app currently ranked No. 17 overall, though it remains at No. 2 in Productivity, Appfigures data indicates.

Appfigures explains that its analysis centers on iOS data because this dataset is currently more complete than Android data. Android data is only available through July 14 for now, as Appfigures' model requires additional time to process Google Play information.