Elon Musk’s xAI loses final co-founders amid exits

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence has been defined by ambition, speed, and increasingly, instability. Now, xAI finds itself at a critical juncture, as the last remaining members of its founding team reportedly walk away, leaving the company entirely without its original architects.

The exits mark a striking moment for a firm that was launched with considerable fanfare less than three years ago by Elon Musk.

According to reports, Manuel Kroiss and Ross Nordeen, the final two co-founders at xAI, have now departed the company. Kroiss, who led the pretraining team, is said to have informed associates of his decision earlier this month, while Nordeen exited more recently.

Founding team exits signal deeper turbulence

Their departures follow a steady stream of exits that had already seen most of the founding team step down. Earlier, co-founders Tony Wu and Jimmy Ba also announced their resignations, citing internal developments at the company.

Nordeen, a long-time Musk associate who previously worked at Tesla, played a key operational role and was involved in major organisational changes during Musk’s takeover of X, formerly Twitter. Kroiss, meanwhile, was central to developing xAI’s core models.

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The complete departure of the founding team is rare for a young technology company, particularly one operating in a high-stakes sector like artificial intelligence. It points to deeper structural and cultural challenges within the organisation, especially as it attempts to scale rapidly.

Reports suggest that tensions had been building internally, particularly around the pressure to accelerate development and improve the performance of xAI’s models to rival competitors such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

Overhaul, competition and mounting pressure

In response to the exits, Musk has acknowledged the need for a fundamental reset. He recently stated that xAI is being “rebuilt from the foundations up”, signalling a significant shift in strategy and operations.

The restructuring appears to go beyond leadership changes. Senior engineers have also left in recent weeks, while executives from SpaceX and Tesla have reportedly been brought in to assess teams and streamline the organisation. The effort reflects an urgency to reposition xAI as a serious contender in the AI race.

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SpaceX and xAI merger

Complicating matters further is the reported consolidation of xAI under a broader corporate structure alongside SpaceX and X. The move, which comes as SpaceX explores a potential public listing, suggests a larger strategic alignment, but also raises questions about focus and integration.

The departure of every co-founder leaves xAI in uncharted territory. Start-ups often evolve, but losing an entire founding team in such a short span is unusual and potentially destabilising.

As Musk pushes to rebuild the company and close the gap with industry leaders, the coming months will be crucial. For xAI, the challenge is no longer just about innovation, it is about proving that it can sustain itself amid internal upheaval and external pressure.