Elon Musk’s xAI Faces Second Cofounder Departure in 48 Hours

Elon Musk’s startup, xAI, has recently faced significant leadership changes. Just two days apart, cofounders Jimmy Ba and Tony Wu announced their departures from the company.

xAI Co-founder Departures

Jimmy Ba officially left xAI on Tuesday, emphasizing the need to “recalibrate” his focus. He noted that he anticipates 2026 to be an incredibly important year for humanity.

Ba was instrumental during his tenure, overseeing various operations at xAI, including a team responsible for over a thousand AI tutors. His responsibilities were redistributed last year to two other cofounders, Tony Wu and Guodong Zhang, reducing his direct influence on the company’s direction.

Reasons Behind the Restructuring

• Ba’s announcement followed Wu’s resignation, which occurred just a day earlier.
• Wu’s departure coincided with a restructuring at xAI, leading to a shift of his duties primarily to Zhang.
• Ba now becomes the second cofounder to exit xAI within 48 hours.

Background on xAI and Leadership Changes

Musk founded xAI in 2023, bringing together 12 original cofounders. However, the startup has seen a wave of departures, with six founders leaving the company, five of whom exited in the past year.

In addition to his role at xAI, Jimmy Ba is also an assistant professor at the University of Toronto. He holds a Ph.D. from the same institution, having studied under Geoffrey Hinton, a notable figure in artificial intelligence.

Controversies and Company Direction

xAI has garnered attention not only for its innovative projects but also for controversies surrounding them. Musk established the company as an alternative to what he describes as “woke” AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Over the past year, xAI has been known for pushing boundaries, launching the digital avatar “Ani” and its Grok chatbot, which has faced backlash for generating problematic content.

Recently, xAI came under fire due to Grok producing non-consensual images in response to user prompts, prompting the company to limit these features.

Future Plans for xAI

Last week, Musk announced plans for xAI to merge with SpaceX. This merger comes as xAI prepares for an initial public offering (IPO) aiming for a valuation of approximately $1.5 trillion.

As the company navigates these changes and controversies, both Ba and xAI have not yet provided further comments regarding the recent departures.