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Elon Musk is talking about the departure of xAI, along with two other co-founders who left this week, bringing all six of the original 12.
At an all-hands meeting Tuesday night, Musk said the exits were a matter of necessity, not execution. “Because we have reached another level, we are preparing the company to work well at this level,” he said. according to The New York Times. “And actually, when that happens, there are some people who are qualified early in the company and not qualified for the later stages.”
On Wednesday afternoon at X, he went ahead, clarifying these visits it was not voluntary. “xAI was updated a few days ago to improve execution,” Musk wrote. “When a company grows, especially as fast as xAI, its structure needs to evolve like any other organism.
He added that the company is “hiring aggressively” and closed with Musk’s words: “Join xAI if the idea of ​​more drivers on the Moon appeals to you.”
Losing half of the co-founders in such a short period of time raises questions, and Musk’s comments appear to be designed to lighten the case, retooling the output as needed rather than stressing about clothing.
In total, at least 11 engineers, including two co-foundershave publicly announced their departure from xAI in the past week – although two of their exits appear to have taken place a few weeks ago.
Three of the departing employees are said to be starting new ventures alongside other former xAI engineers, although no details have been made available about the new company. Others expressed a desire for autonomy and small teams to rapidly develop frontier technology, pointing to the expected growth in AI production.
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Yuhuai (Tony) Wu, xAI co-founder and thought leader, said the post announcing his resignation: “It’s time for my next chapter. This is a time of all possibilities: a small team of AIs can move mountains and redefine what’s possible.”
Shayan Salehian, who worked on product development and post-learning at xAI and previously worked at Twitter/X, he said last week he left to “start something new.”
Vahid Kazemi, a long-time machine learning developer, it was written on Tuesday which he left a few weeks ago, adding: “IMO, all the AI ​​labs are doing the same thing, and it’s boring… So, I’m starting something new.”
Roland Gavrilescu, a former xAI engineer, left in November to start Nuraline, a company building “advanced AI assistants,” but tweeted on Tuesday that he left the company to create “something new with others who left xAI.”
Departures come during the great controversy on xAI. The company is meeting supervisory review After Grok created a range of women’s and children’s accessories that were published on X – French authorities last week attacked X offices as part of the research. The company is also going to a A planned IPO later this year, later officially acquired by SpaceX last week.
Musk is also facing controversy after files released by the Department of Justice show extensive conversations with rapist and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The emails show Musk discussing the trip to Epstein Island on two separate occasions, in 2012 and 2013. Epstein was first convicted of procuring a child for prostitution in 2008.
xAI stores the amount of more than 1,000 employeesso the departure will not affect the company’s short-term profitability. However, the latest rush has become apparent on the Internet, with users jokingly announcing on X that they too are “leaving xAI” even though they have never worked – a sign of how the “mass exodus” story has flooded Musk’s social media.
However, the forced exit of co-founders is not necessarily a sign of successful growth. While Musk plans to reinvent the wheel as calculated, the fact that several engineers have followed their co-founders out the door — and that at least three are starting something new — suggests that the departure could also signal deeper conflicts. At the frontier of AI, where talent is scarce and reputation is important, xAI’s ability to attract and retain top researchers will be tested as it competes with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
TechCrunch reached out to xAI to find out more.
Time to announce departures
The following have publicly announced their departure from xAI on X days recently:
February 6: Ayush Jaiswalengineer, wrote: “This was my last week at xAI. It will take a few months to settle in with family and talk to AI.”
February 7: Shayan Salehianwho worked in product design and modeling after training and was previously at X, wrote: “I left xAI to start something new, closing my head for 7+ years working on Twitter, X, and xAI with great gratitude.” He also said that working with Elon Musk taught him “a lot of attention to detail, speed, and thinking from basic principles.”
February 9: Simon ZhaiMTS (a member of the technical staff), wrote: “Today is my last day at xAI, I feel blessed for this opportunity. It has been an amazing journey.”
February 9: Yuhuai (Tony) Wuco-founder and thought leader, wrote: “I’m leaving xAI today. It’s time for my next chapter. It’s time for all the possibilities: a small team with AI tools can move mountains and redefine what’s possible.”
February 10: Jimmy Baco-founder of research / security, wrote: “The last day at xAI. We are going to 100x productivity with the right tools. The beauty of beauty can be in the next 12 months. It’s time to update my image in the big picture. 2026 will be crazy (and probably the busiest of our year).
February 10: Vahid KazemiML PhD, wrote that he left xAI “a few weeks ago,” adding: “IMO, all AI laboratories are doing the same thing, and it’s boring. I think there is room for more.
February 10: Be Gaowho worked on many experiments, including Grok Imagine, wrote: “I quit xAI today.” He described his time there as “really rewarding,” citing contributions to the release of Grok Imagine and praising the group’s “humble talent and ambitious vision.”
February 10: Roland Gavrilescuan engineer who left in November to start Nuraline, wrote: “I left xAI. Building something new with others who left xAI. We are hiring :)”
February 10: Chace Leefounding team member Macrohard, wrote: “Brief renovation, then back to the border.” (Macrohard is the only AI software under xAI designed to automate programming, coding, and operations using Grok-powered, multi-agent systems. Its name is a dig at Microsoft.)
February 11: Andrew Mawho had been at xAI since X was named Twitter, worked on programming and ideas, including “X video, search engine, user interface, starter packs and home feed brand.” He wrote: “I’m excited about the future – I don’t know what I’ll be doing yet (my DMs are open), but there’s a world to change and there’s no time to waste. Go team, stay awake, stay strong, I can’t wait to see you all next month and beyond, believe me when I say there’s no one I trust more in the world to succeed.”
February 12: Radhakrishnan (Rad) Venkataramaniwho worked on conceptualizing and promoting Grok’s learning systems, wrote: “The last 8 months in the RL system/SWE-RL team pushing our model to SOTA and self-regulating, will be unforgettable in my life…
This article was originally published on February 11 and has been updated to include additional staff visits.
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