Key Takeaways:
- Founder Exodus: 6 out of 12 original founders have left since 2023; 5 left in the last year alone.
- Recent Exits: Top researchers Jimmy Ba and Tony Wu resigned back-to-back in February 2026.
- Corporate Shift: xAI was recently acquired by SpaceX, valuing the combined giant at $1.25 trillion.
- New Direction: Musk is splitting the company into four new areas, including a team to build “AI agents” that can run businesses.
- Pressure Cooker: Reports suggest internal stress over catching up to rivals like Open AI and recent controversies over AI-generated content.
x AI Reorganization 2026: Why Half the Founding Team Left
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, x AI, is undergoing a major reorganization after six of its twelve original co-founders departed, leaving the startup to restructure as it merges into SpaceX.
- Why it matters: The loss of half the founding team including top researchers from Google and Open AI could slow down the company’s race to build smarter AI.
- Who it affects: Investors in Musk’s companies, users of the Grok chatbot, and the broader tech industry watching the $1.25 trillion SpaceX-xAI merger.
- What to watch: Whether the new “Macrohard” division and space-based data centers can make up for the loss of elite talent.
This article explores the recent wave of exits, the reasons behind the shake-up, and Musk’s plan to keep the company moving forward by hiring “aggressively” for new projects.
What Happened: A Week of Big Changes
On February 11, 2026, Elon Musk confirmed that xAI had undergone a “reorganization” to improve how fast the company works. This announcement came immediately after two of the most important members of the founding team, Jimmy Ba and Yuhuai (Tony) Wu, announced they were leaving.
Ba was a world-famous researcher from the University of Toronto, and Wu led the team responsible for making the AI “think” through complex problems. While both expressed gratitude to Musk on social media, their departures mean that the core group that started the company just 30 months ago has been cut in half.
Why the Team is Shrinking
While the public messages were polite, reports from insiders suggest a high-pressure environment. Some staff members reportedly felt that leadership promised Musk technical breakthroughs that were nearly impossible to achieve in a short time.
The company has also faced public criticism. Its chatbot, Grok, recently came under fire for allowing users to create inappropriate images. Additionally, some projects like a coding tool meant to compete with big rivals haven’t performed as well as hoped. Musk himself described the changes as a natural “evolution,” saying that as a company grows, it must change like a living organism, which “unfortunately required parting ways with some people.”
| Name | Role / Expertise | Status |
| Elon Musk | CEO & Founder | Active |
| Jimmy Ba | Research & Safety Lead | Left Feb 2026 |
| Tony Wu | Reasoning Team Lead | Left Feb 2026 |
| Greg Yang | Tech Strategy | Stepped back (Health) |
| Igor Babuschkin | Tech Lead | Left 2025 |
| Christian Szegedy | Research Scientist | Left 2025 |
| Kyle Kosic | Infrastructure | Left 2024 |
The New Plan: Four New Pillars
To move past the exits, Musk has reorganized xAI into four specific divisions. He believes this will help the company execute ideas faster:
- Grok: Focusing on the chatbot and voice features people use on the social media platform X.
- Coding: Building tools that help software engineers write computer code.
- Imagine: A division dedicated to creating videos and images through AI.
- Macrohard: A brand-new group designed to build “AI agents”—software that can perform tasks and manage parts of a business on its own.
What’s Next: Space and the Stock Market
The reorganization is also a preparation for the future. By merging xAI into SpaceX, Musk is creating a massive company that he plans to take public (an IPO) later in 2026. He is even talking about building data centers in space and “mass drivers” on the Moon.
While the loss of the original founders is a setback, Musk claims the company is “hiring aggressively.” The goal is to find new talent who are excited about these sci-fi-style goals and can work at the extreme speed Musk demands.
FAQ: Understanding the xAI Shake-up
Is xAI in trouble because the founders left?
While losing experts like Jimmy Ba is a blow to their research power, Musk argues the company is simply shifting from its “early stage” to a “growth stage” where different types of workers are needed.
Why did xAI merge with SpaceX?
The merger combines Musk’s AI talent with SpaceX’s massive resources. This makes the combined company worth $1.25 trillion and helps fund expensive AI projects through SpaceX’s success.
What is the “Macrohard” division?
It is a new team at xAI focused on “AI agents.” These are advanced programs that don’t just talk to you but can actually do work, like organizing a schedule or managing a supply chain.
Is Grok going away?
No. Grok remains a top priority and is one of the four main pillars of the newly reorganized company.
Can I still apply to work at xAI?
Yes. Elon Musk has explicitly stated that the company is looking for new engineers and researchers who are interested in space-based computing and high-speed AI development.
