Senior engineers, including co-founders, exit xAI amid controversy
Source: TechCrunch
Recent xAI Engineer Departures
At least nine engineers, including two co‑founders, have publicly announced their departure from xAI in the past week – although two of those exits appear to have occurred a few weeks earlier.
Neither xAI nor Elon Musk have publicly commented on the departures.
While attrition is typical at startups, co‑founder departures are far less common. More than half of xAI’s founding team has now left, and the fact that several employees followed within days has intensified scrutiny around the company’s stability.
What the departing staff are saying
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Yuhai (Tony) Wu – xAI co‑founder and reasoning lead
“It’s time for my next chapter. It is an era with full possibilities: a small team armed with AIs can move mountains and redefine what’s possible.”
View post -
Shayan Salehian, product infrastructure & model‑behavior (ex‑Twitter/X)
“I left xAI to start something new, closing my 7+ year chapter working at Twitter, X, and xAI with so much gratitude.”
“xAI is truly an extraordinary place. The team is incredibly hardcore and talented, shipping at a pace that shouldn’t be possible.”
Tweet (Feb 7 2026) -
Valid Kazemi, brief ML stint
“IMO, all AI labs are building the exact same thing, and it’s boring… So, I’m starting something new.”
(original link was mis‑directed; the statement was made on X on Tuesday) -
Roland Gavrilescu, former engineer (now at Nuraline)
“Leaving xAI to build something new with others that left.”
TechCrunch Event
| Location | Date |
|---|---|
| Boston, MA | June 23, 2026 |
Context: Controversy & Regulatory Scrutiny
The departures come amid a wave of challenges for xAI:
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Grok controversy – non‑consensual explicit deepfakes of women and children were disseminated on X, prompting regulatory investigations.
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Planned IPO – xAI is moving toward a public offering later this year after being legally acquired by SpaceX last week.
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Musk’s personal controversy – DOJ‑released emails show Musk discussing visits to Jeffrey Epstein’s island in 2012 and 2013.
Despite a headcount of over 1,000 employees (Business Insider, Mar 2025), the rapid succession of exits has sparked a “mass exodus” narrative on X, with many users jokingly announcing they are leaving—even though they never worked at xAI.
Why Co‑Founder Exits Matter
Co‑founder departures are harder to dismiss as routine churn. As Musk consolidates his AI ambitions, these exits raise broader questions about governance and long‑term stability at xAI. In frontier AI, where talent is scarce, factors such as reputational gravity and mission clarity become critical.
The key issue may not be how many engineers have left, but whether xAI can maintain the institutional steadiness needed to compete with rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
TechCrunch has reached out to xAI for more information.
Timeline of Departure Announcements
| Date (2026) | Engineer | Role / Note | Announcement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 6 | Ayush Jaiswal | Engineer | “This was my last week at xAI. Will be taking a few months to spend time with family & tinker with AI.” |
| Feb 7 | Shayan Salehian | Product infrastructure & model‑behavior (ex‑Twitter/X) | “I left xAI to start something new, closing my 7+ year chapter….” |
| Feb 9 | Simon Zhai | MTS (Member of Technical Staff) | “Today is my last day at xAI, feeling very fortunate about the opportunity…” |
| Feb 10 | Yuhai (Tony) Wu | Co‑founder & Reasoning Lead | “It’s time for my next chapter… a small team armed with AIs can move mountains.” |
| Feb 12 | Valid Kazemi | Brief ML stint | “All AI labs are building the exact same thing, and it’s boring… So, I’m starting something new.” |
| Feb 13 | Roland Gavrilescu | Former Engineer (now at Nuraline) | “Leaving xAI to build something new with others that left.” |
February 10 Announcements
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Yuhai (Tony) Wu – co‑founder and reasoning lead
“I resigned. It’s time for my next chapter. It is an era with full possibilities: a small team armed with AIs can move mountains and redefine what’s possible.”
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Jimmy Ba – co‑founder and research/safety lead
“Last day at xAI… We are heading to an age of 100× productivity with the right tools. Recursive self‑improvement loops likely go live in the next 12 months. It’s time to recalibrate my gradient on the big picture. 2026 is gonna be insane and likely the busiest (and most consequential) year for the future of our species.”
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Vahid Kazemi – ML PhD
“I left xAI a few weeks ago. IMO, all AI labs are building the exact same thing, and it’s boring. I think there’s room for more creativity. So, I’m starting something new.”
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Hang Gao – worked on multimodal efforts, including Grok Imagine
“I left xAI today.” He described his time there as “truly rewarding,” citing contributions to Grok Imagine’s releases and praising the team’s “humble craftsmanship and ambitious vision.”
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Roland Gavrilescu – engineer who left in November to start Nuraline
“I left xAI. Building something new with others that left xAI. We’re hiring :)”
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Chance Lee – member of the Macrohard founding team
“Taking a brief reset then back to the frontier.” (Macrohard is an AI‑only software venture under xAI designed to fully automate software development, coding, and operations using Grok‑powered, multi‑agent systems. Its name is a dig at Microsoft.)
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