Elon Musk confirms xAI used OpenAI’s models to train Grok | The Verge

AINewsPolicyElon Musk confirms xAI used OpenAI’s models to train GrokHe said it was “partly” true that the company had used model distillation to improve xAI’s models.He said it was “partly” true that the company had used model distillation to improve xAI’s models.by Hayden FieldApr 30, 2026, 6:16 PM UTCLinkShareGiftIf you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesPart OfLIVELive updates from Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s court battle over the future of OpenAIsee all updates Hayden Field is The Verge’s senior AI reporter. An AI beat reporter for more than five years, her work has also appeared in CNBC, MIT Technology Review, Wired UK, and other outlets.In a federal courtroom in California on Thursday, Elon Musk testified that his own AI startup, xAI, has used OpenAI’s models to improve its own.The matter at question is model distillation, a common industry practice by which one larger AI model acts as a “teacher” of sorts to pass on knowledge to a smaller AI model, the “student.” Although it’s often used legitimately within companies using one of their own AI models to train another, it’s also a practice that’s sometimes used by smaller AI labs to try to get their models to mimic the performance of a larger competitor’s model.Asked on the stand whether he knew what model distillation was, Musk said it’s to use one AI model to train another. When asked whether xAI has distilled Ope...