Why trust Greenbot
xAI’s Grok 4 model drove a 325% revenue increase to $419,000 daily on iOS within two days of its July 9 launch, while the company’s NSFW artificial intelligence (AI) companions generated only modest financial gains despite attracting controversy.
The advanced AI model produced $419,000 in daily iOS revenue by July 11, up from $99,000 before launch, according to app intelligence firm Appfigures. Downloads increased 279% to 197,000, pushing Grok to third place overall and second in the Productivity category on the App Store.
xAI launched the model late on July 9. The revenue jump represents a massive 325% increase, which has caught the industry’s attention.
Source: Appfigures
Revenue remained elevated for several days. Grok maintained earnings above $367,000 daily before settling at $310,000 by July 14.
Five days later, xAI introduced AI companions featuring unfiltered personalities like an “anime goth girl” for adult conversations. The companions generated substantial media coverage but did not match the model launch’s financial impact.
Downloads increased 40% to 171,000 daily installations after the July 14 companions launch. Revenue grew only 9% to $337,000.
The contrast reveals which features drive actual profits. Grok 4 offered advanced reasoning capabilities paired with premium subscription tiers, including SuperGrok Heavy at $300 monthly.
Source: Appfigures
This pricing exceeds comparable offerings from OpenAI, Google, or Anthropic. Users accepted the higher costs despite early criticism about Grok 4 incorporating Musk’s personal opinions into responses, an issue xAI later addressed.
Companions remain restricted to Super Grok subscribers paying $30 monthly. This limitation reduces their revenue potential compared to broader model improvements.
App Store performance reflects user priorities. Grok maintained second position in Productivity despite dropping from third to 17th place overall by late July. The analysis covers iOS data only, as Android metrics remain incomplete as Appfigures processes Google Play statistics.
Technical capabilities consistently outperform novelty features in generating sustainable revenue. Premium pricing strategies succeed when paired with genuinely advanced AI performance rather than entertainment-focused additions.
