Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is undergoing a profound leadership shake-up. Earlier this month, nine of the company’s 11 co-founders had already departed, and now the remaining two have also left, marking the complete dissolution of the original founding team.
According to Business Insider, Manuel Kroiss, who led the company’s pretraining team, informed those around him of his decision to leave this week, while Ross Nordeen, described as Musk’s “right-hand operator,” officially departed on Friday. Both reported directly to Musk and were key figures in xAI’s technical and operational spheres.
These departures come as Musk is strategically restructuring xAI. He recently stated publicly that xAI “was not built right the first time around” and is now “being rebuilt from the foundations up.” This suggests the company is undergoing comprehensive adjustments, from organizational structure to technical direction.
Amid the leadership changes, xAI’s capital structure and corporate alignment are also shifting significantly. The company was recently acquired by Musk’s SpaceX, bringing SpaceX, xAI, and the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) under a single corporate umbrella. SpaceX is reportedly planning to go public, and this integration is seen as a key step in Musk’s broader capital market strategy.
Nordeen’s departure carries particular significance. He joined xAI from Tesla and was previously involved in planning the major layoffs at Twitter after Musk acquired the company in 2022. Inaianei, the executive who once helped Musk wield the axe has become the last of xAI’s founding members to leave.
As of now, neither Musk nor xAI has publicly responded to the departure of the entire founding team. With xAI entering its “rebuilding” wahanga, observers will continue to closely watch the company’s future technological direction, product development, and its evolving role within Musk’s business empire.