Pavel Durov Confirms xAI Deal is Still ‘Pending’

A deal that would bring xAI’s Grok to Telegram has apparently not been signed, despite prior reporting, putting sell pressure on TON’s recent rally.

The deal would see Telegram get 50% of revenue from xAI subscriptions sold via its platform, along with $300 million in cash and equity, as the messaging giant looks to raise $1.5 billion via a bond offering that is being backed by the likes of BlackRock, Mubadala, and Citadel.

“No deal has been signed,” xAI CEO Elon Musk posted late Wednesday in response to the Telegram founder’s announcement.

TON, a token associated with Telegram, dropped from $3.60 to $3.28 in the moments after the tweet. The token had been on a rally in the hours after the announcement, previously up 14% on-day, according to CoinDesk market data.

Telegram’s Pavel Durov later posted on X that Musk’s statement was true.
“Agreed in principle, but formalities are pending,” he wrote.

UPDATE (May 28, 23:17 UTC) Updates price information, statement from Durov.