Elon Musk has prompted another wave of staff exits at his artificial intelligence firm xAI, removing more co-founders after concluding that the company’s coding operation was falling short of expectations, according to reporting that described the changes.
The shifts come after a broader management overhaul last month that followed xAI’s integration with Musk’s rocket company SpaceX, part of preparations for a planned initial public offering. As part of the review, Musk brought in managers from SpaceX and Tesla to audit xAI. Those internal auditors recommended the departure of several employees whose output they judged insufficient, the reporting said.
One of the co-founders affected, Guodong Zhang, who led xAI’s Imagine team, told colleagues he would leave the company after being held responsible for problems with the coding product and having his primary responsibilities removed by Musk, two people familiar with the decision said. Zhang confirmed his exit in a post on the social platform X on Thursday.
Another co-founder, Zihang Dai, reportedly departed earlier in the week. With these exits, the three-year-old company now retains only two of the 12 co-founders who helped establish xAI in March 2023, the reporting indicated.
SpaceX, which completed the acquisition of xAI with an ambition to build a $1.25 trillion company, did not immediately reply to a request for comment, the report said.
Inside xAI, staff members have expressed concern that the ongoing turmoil is harming morale and impeding the company’s ability to reach its potential. Researchers have continued to leave, citing burnout tied to what employees described as Musk’s "extremely hardcore" work demands and, in some cases, choosing to accept more attractive offers from competing firms.
Recruiters have reportedly been reaching back out to candidates who were previously rejected at xAI, offering new positions often with improved financial terms. In response to the recruiting activity and past hiring decisions, Musk posted on X: "Many talented people over the past few years were declined an offer or even an interview at xAI. My apologies," adding that he would reengage with promising candidates.
As part of the recent staffing moves, xAI hired Andrew Milich and Jason Ginsberg from the code-generation startup Cursor on Thursday. The new hires were part of the broader effort to shore up the coding and engineering ranks as the company restructures.
Context and implications
The personnel changes and internal audit are occurring as xAI is being prepared for an IPO and integrated under SpaceX’s ownership. The departures of several co-founders and ongoing researcher attrition raise questions about the company’s ability to stabilize its product teams and retain specialized talent during a critical phase of corporate reorganization.