Elon Musk’s xAI launches Grok’s “Imagine” video generator and AI companions to rival Google’s Veo

Just days after the launch of Grok 4, Elon Musk’s xAI is back with another bold move: a beta video generation tool called “Imagine,” paired with two animated AI companions. With this update, Grok shifts from a conversational chatbot to something closer to a creative suite—capable of spitting out videos with synchronized audio from just text or an image. It’s Musk’s play to keep pace with tools like Google’s Veo, and it’s already stirring up buzz—and controversy.

Grok Gets a Video Makeover

The “Imagine” feature is built on xAI’s in-house Aurora engine and is available in beta starting July 28. It lets users generate high-quality videos from simple prompts or images, adding synchronized audio on top. The feature works inside the standalone Grok app and is currently accessible only to SuperGrok subscribers paying $30 a month. Everyone else can join a waitlist.

Musk confirmed the release with a post on X and encouraged people to download the app and try it out. The new tool pulls in tech from Hotshot, a startup xAI quietly acquired back in March. The integration speeds up production and gives Grok a serious leg up in the text-to-video arms race.

“Download the @Grok app and subscribe to try out our video generation beta and Valentine/Ani,” Musk said on X.

To show it’s more than a science project, Musk dropped demo clips and admitted the tool is still buggy. Engineers are working on it, he said. But the signal is clear: xAI wants Grok to be a place where people don’t just chat—they create.

Meet Valentine and Ani

Alongside the video feature, xAI introduced two AI characters to liven up the Grok experience: Valentine and Ani. The first is inspired by characters like Edward Cullen and Christian Grey—designed to be charming, emotionally aware, and just edgy enough to intrigue users. The second is Ani, a 3D anime-style avatar that reacts to chats with floating hearts, twirls, and a flirtatious tone. Both companions were initially exclusive to SuperGrok users but are now available to everyone using the Grok app on iOS.

These companions aren’t just animations—they’re built with emotion recognition, memory, and real-time interaction systems. Ani, for instance, includes a relationship meter that changes based on how you engage with her. Valentine is teased as the kind of character “that will make your heart race.”

It’s part AI, part game, and part social experiment.

Working out the bugs on @Grok video pic.twitter.com/kjI0UjOln4

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 28, 2025

A Feature with Strings Attached

The rollout comes on the heels of controversy. Earlier this month, Grok came under fire for antisemitic responses, which xAI blamed on outdated code. Then came the backlash around Ani’s NSFW mode—a feature that lets users engage in more provocative exchanges, including visual changes like lingerie outfits triggered by specific prompts.

That didn’t sit well with groups like the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, which raised concerns about Ani’s accessibility to younger users. The Grok app has a 12+ rating on app stores. In response, xAI added age verification for the NSFW mode. Still, the backlash hasn’t fully quieted down, and the feature’s existence opens a larger conversation about what kind of experiences AI tools should be offering—and to whom.

The Bigger Play

This isn’t just about making videos or flirty avatars. xAI is piecing together a broader strategy. Since launching Grok 4, the company has mapped out new features every month: a coding model in August, a multimodal agent in September, and this video feature in October. Behind the scenes, xAI has landed a $200 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense and is hiring engineers for its “Waifu” project, offering up to $440,000 to build more avatar-based experiences.

The AI companion market is expected to hit $24.5 billion by 2030. Musk clearly wants a piece of that future.

What Comes Next?

The “Imagine” beta and new companions make it clear: Grok is no longer just a chatbot. It’s a creative engine, a content lab, and—depending on who you ask—a dating simulator. Whether these features push Grok ahead of rivals like Google Veo or invite more backlash is still playing out.

For now, users can download the Grok app, subscribe to SuperGrok, and explore what happens when text, video, and AI personalities collide.