The back-to-back exits mean six of the AI startup’s 12 founding members have now departed as the company faces mounting pressure ahead of a potential IPO.
Two Founders Announce Departures Within A Day
After xAI co-founder Yuhuai “Tony” Wu said Monday night that he is leaving the Elon Musk-led artificial intelligence startup, another co-founder, Jimmy Ba also announced his own departure.
In a post on X, Ba thanked Musk “for bringing us together on this incredible journey” and said he was proud of the team’s work.
The Financial Times reported that Ba left amid internal tensions over efforts to improve xAI’s models as Musk races to catch up with OpenAI and Anthropic.
Half Of xAI’s Founding Team Has Departed
With Wu and Ba’s exits, six of the company’s original 12 founding members have now left.
Five of those departures occurred within the past year, including infrastructure lead Kyle Kosic, who joined OpenAI in 2024 and researcher Christian Szegedy, who exited in early 2025.
Others have left to launch new ventures or cited personal reasons. The turnover comes as xAI prepares for heightened scrutiny tied to a potential initial public offering.
Grok Challenges, IPO Pressure And The AI Race
xAI’s flagship chatbot, Grok, has faced criticism over erratic responses and controversy surrounding its image-generation tools, which have drawn legal and reputational scrutiny.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Musk has arranged SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI as a strategic merger aimed at reducing debt risk, limiting legal exposure and keeping the company’s long-anticipated IPO on schedule.
Musk has also reportedly outlined ambitious expansion plans, including large-scale computing infrastructure projects, as competition intensifies against OpenAI and Anthropic.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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