Digital Trends and Insights · Artificial Intelligence
Exodus at xAI: Half of Founding Team Leaves Elon Musk's AI Startup
Elon Musk's ambitious AI startup xAI is facing a period of internal turmoil as a significant portion of its founding team departs.
In early February 2026, co-founders Tony Wu and Jimmy Ba announced their resignations, bringing to six the number of founding members who have left the company since its creation in 2023. This means that half of the original 12-person team is no longer part of the project .
A Series of Troubling Departures
Wu and Ba's resignations, which occurred less than 48 hours apart, were the latest in a series of departures that raise questions about the company's stability and direction. Jimmy Ba's departure, as he led crucial areas such as research and safety, was particularly notable. The departures coincided with a period of restructuring, including a merger with SpaceX, another Musk company, aimed at accelerating AI development and infrastructure .
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Original Founding Members
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Status
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Elon Musk
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Remains
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Igor Babuschkin
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Remains
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Manuel Kroiss
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Remains
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Yuhuai (Tony) Wu
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Left (Feb 2026)
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Christian Szegedy
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Remains
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Jimmy Ba
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Left (Feb 2026)
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Toby Pohlen
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Remains
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Ross Nordeen
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Remains
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Kyle Kosic
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Left (2024)
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Greg Yang
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Remains
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Guodong Zhang
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Left
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Zihang Dai
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Left
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Possible Causes and the Future of xAI
Although the exact reasons for each departure have not been fully clarified, reports by the Financial Times and Reuters point to possible internal tensions related to Elon Musk's leadership and the company's strategic direction. The intense pressure to compete with giants such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, combined with the demanding work culture associated with Musk, may have contributed to the team's burnout.
Musk, for his part, has tried to project an image of progress, saying that xAI is now focused on "speed and acceleration." The strategy appears to be to integrate xAI more deeply into his business empire, leveraging SpaceX's resources for infrastructure and data from X (formerly Twitter) to train models. xAI's stated goal is ambitious: to "understand the true nature of the universe." However, to achieve this cosmic goal, the company will first need to address its earthly challenges by ensuring it can retain the top talent essential to AI innovation.
The departure of half its founders is a significant obstacle. It not only means a loss of technical and institutional knowledge, but could also affect the morale of the remaining team and the company's ability to attract new talent. xAI's future will depend crucially on Musk's ability to stabilize its leadership and prove that his vision can overcome internal turmoil.
