Just a few days ago, Elon Musk confirmed that his space exploration company, SpaceX, has acquired xAI, the company behind the controversial Grok AI. However, it appears the startup is already facing turbulence from within.
Half of xAI’s founding team reportedly left the company
As reported by TechCrunch, half of xAI’s founding team has now left the company. That includes co-founders Yuhuai (Tony) Wu and Jimmy Ba, who shared gracious goodbye posts on X this week. While these might seem like standard tech departures, the bigger picture is already raising eyebrows.
Out of xAI’s 12-person founding team, six have left, and five of those departures happened just in the last year. If you keep up with AI industry news, you might be aware that xAI’s infrastructure lead Kyle Kosic has already joined OpenAI.
At a time when the AI race is heating up, fundraising is hot, and a possible IPO is on the horizon, xAI losing its top executives doesn’t add up very well. Maybe it has to do with Elon Musk, who in several instances in the past, has been called a demanding leader.
Back in 2023, reports floated that Musk demanded X (then Twitter) employees to be “hardcore,” working 80 to 100 hours a week, every week. That being said, it’s unclear whether his leadership style has anything to do with these exits.
Controversy around Grok and need for top talent to stay
Speaking of xAI, let’s not forget that Musk is also under scrutiny in relation to Grok AI’s deepfake controversy. At a time when Musk should be holding onto talent, he is letting top lines go. Without top AI talents, it might be hard for Grok to stay competitive against the latest models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and other rivals.
Now, the bigger question is: can the company keep its remaining talent focused and its products on track, or will the internal shakeups slow down the AI ambitions Musk has set in motion? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
