Elon Musk’s startup xAI is paying the Dubai-based messaging platform Telegram $300 million to roll out its Grok artificial intelligence chatbot, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced in a post on Wednesday.

Durov said he and Musk struck a year-long partnership that “strengthens Telegram’s financial position.”

In addition to the $300 million payment from xAI, Telegram will also earn 50% of the revenue from xAI subscriptions that are sold on the platform, according to Durov.

“This summer, Telegram users will gain access to the best AI technology on the market,” Durov wrote.

xAI and Telegram did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Telegram passed 1 billion monthly users in 2025, and the company is set to raise at least $1.5 billion in a bond issue on Wednesday, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. The messaging platform is popular in countries like Russia and Ukraine, where it is used by government officials and the military.

Durov is facing an investigation in France, where he is a citizen, for allegedly allowing criminal activity including drug trafficking, fraud and child pornography on Telegram. Following his arrest in August, Durov has been barred from leaving France without authorization.

Telegram said in a previous statement posted on Musk’s social media platform X that it abides by EU laws, and that Durov has “nothing to hide.”

The Russian-born billionaire left Russia in 2014, according to Telegram’s website, and is also a citizen of the United Arab Emirates.

In March, Musk announced xAI merged with X in a deal that values the AI company at $80 billion and the social media company at $33 billion.

WATCH: Arrest of Telegram CEO ‘unprecedented’, says postdoctoral researcher

Joby Aviation shares jumped 20% Wednesday after the maker of electric air taxis said it received $250 million from Toyota.

The payment is part of a previously announced deal from the carmaker to invest $500 million in the company to support certification and commercial production of its electric air taxis. Toyota announced the deal in October.

“We’re already seeing the benefit of working with Toyota in streamlining manufacturing processes and optimizing design,” said CEO and founder JoeBen Bevirt in a release late Tuesday. “This is an important next step in our alliance with Toyota to scale the promise of electric flight.”

Joby also added that the deal reinforces the “mutual commitment to deepening integration and delivering next generation travel to global market.”

Joby makes electric vertical takeoff and landing aircrafts (eVTOL) which take off and land like helicopters. Developers say the technology can be used to reduce traffic congestion and emissions.

United Airlines has partnered with competitor Archer Aviation to launch an airport air taxi service.

Toyota invested $394 million in Joby in 2020.

WATCH: eVTOLS: Are flying cars finally becoming reality?

Instacart on Wednesday appointed business chief Chris Rogers as its new CEO, less than a month after OpenAI announced CEO Fidji Simo as its new head of applications.

Shares were flat.

Rogers, who joined Instacart in 2019, will start Aug. 15 and join the board of directors. Simo will retain her chair position to “smooth the transition,” the company said.

“Over the last four years, we’ve transformed Instacart into a growing, profitable, leading technology platform that’s helping reshape the grocery industry,” Simo said in a release. “We’re building a generational company at the intersection of technology and food, and Chris is the right leader for our next chapter.”

OpenAI announced this month that it had recruited Simo to lead its applications team, reporting directly to CEO Sam Altman. At the time, Altman said in a post that Simo would “focus on enabling our ‘traditional’ company functions to scale as we enter a next phase of growth.”

She joined the artificial intelligence startup’s board last year.

Simo helped take the grocery delivery company public in 2023, after it ballooned in popularity as consumers sheltered at home during the depths of the pandemic.

At the time, Instacart was the first major venture-backed tech IPO since the end of 2021. She also made CNBC’s 2024 Changemakers list.

“There were a lot of questions about whether Instacart would be just another pandemic fad,” Simo told CNBC at the time. “And we have now proven that we not only kept the Covid gains, but grew on top of the Covid gains and grew sustainably and profitably,  which is really important.”

Prior to joining Instacart, Rogers spent 11 years at Apple working in a variety of roles, including managing director for the company’s Canada division. He started his career at the delivery company as vice president of global retail, later transitioning into the chief business officer role.

Rogers began his professional career at Procter & Gamble and graduated in 2001 from Canada’s Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

“We have a world-class team, deep partnerships, leading technology, and a bold vision for the future, and I’m honored to step in and lead Instacart’s next chapter,” he said.