xAI updates Grok Imagine to 1.5 with image-to-video generation at 720p resolution

Elon Musk's AI company xAI has released Grok Imagine Video 1.5 in preview, a new image-to-video model. The model turns a single still image into a short video at up to 720p resolution. Users describe camera movements, pacing, and atmosphere through text prompts, and the model animates the scene while keeping the original image's details and lighting intact, according to xAI. Multiple shots can also be stitched together into longer scenes that maintain a consistent look.

The model is currently available as a preview through the xAI API and can be set up with just a few lines of code. xAI is now competing directly with video AI providers like Seedance and Google's Veo. OpenAI recently pulled its Sora video model, citing resource constraints and what was likely a missing business model.