San Francisco / Global — February 11, 2026: Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has seen two of its co-founders step down in less than two days — marking a major shift in leadership just as the firm accelerates its AI development and expansion plans.

Founders Depart in Latest Exodus

Yuhuai “Tony” Wu announced his resignation from xAI this week, expressing gratitude for his time building the company and calling it “the ride of a lifetime” in a post on Musk’s social platform, X. Wu’s departure makes him one of several early leaders who’ve left the AI startup since its launch in 2023.

Just hours later, Jimmy Ba, another co-founder and key research lead, also confirmed his exit — thanking his colleagues and Musk and hinting at new opportunities ahead.

Together, Wu and Ba’s exits mean that half of xAI’s original 12 co-founders have now left the company, highlighting a significant turnover at the leadership level.

Pressure and Ambition Behind the Scenes

Industry reports suggest that tensions within xAI’s technical ranks have played a role in the departures. As Musk pushes to improve AI model performance and catch up to rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic, internal demands and expectations have reportedly intensified.

The leadership changes come at a pivotal moment for xAI: the company recently announced a merger with Musk’s rocket firm SpaceX, creating a combined entity valued around $1.25 trillion with plans for an eventual IPO to fund massive compute infrastructure and global scaling.

What This Means for xAI’s Future

Experts say that frequent departures among founding members can test any startup’s stability — especially one racing to compete in the crowded and fast-moving AI landscape. While Musk’s vision for xAI remains ambitious, retaining top engineering and research talent is crucial for pushing advanced models and products forward.

Despite the exits, xAI continues to grow offices and teams across key AI hubs and work on next-generation artificial intelligence tools.