All xAI co‑founders have left after SpaceX merger, raising questions ahead of IPO

Founders flee as xAI folds into SpaceX

Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI has reportedly lost its entire founding team just weeks after being folded into SpaceX. It has been reported that Ross Nordeen, the last remaining co‑founder, resigned last Friday, following earlier exits by co‑founders including Manuel Kroiss and noted theorist Christian Szegedy. The departures are unusually concentrated: Szegedy left in February 2025, and multiple other co‑founders reportedly left between February and March this year — timing that overlaps with xAI’s integration into SpaceX and plans for a mid‑year IPO.

A "dream team" disassembled

When formed in 2023, xAI assembled what many in the industry called a dream team: talent from DeepMind, Google, Microsoft Research, OpenAI and Tesla. Key names included Igor Babuschkin (ex‑DeepMind), Jimmy Ba (co‑author of the influential Adam optimization paper), Kyle Kosic (infrastructure from OpenAI) and several former Google and Microsoft researchers. It has been reported that those credentials helped xAI jump quickly into the top tier of AI model development, but that prestige did not translate into founder retention after the corporate reshuffle.

Why did they leave — management or market?

Reports point to two broad explanations. First, it has been reported that friction with Musk’s management style and an apparent drift from the company’s original values prompted departures. Second, the booming AI market has created abundant entrepreneurial and hiring opportunities, making talent poaching and new startups attractive alternatives. It has been reported that SpaceX acquired xAI in an all‑stock deal announced February 2 — a transaction that reportedly valued SpaceX at $1 trillion and xAI at $250 billion — and that SpaceX is targeting a possible $1.75 trillion valuation as part of the combined company’s IPO preparations.

Implications for investors and AI competition

Integration of xAI and the social platform X into SpaceX was pitched as a fast track to scale. But the rapid exodus of founders raises questions about engineering leadership and strategic continuity just as the combined group prepares for public markets. For Western readers unfamiliar with the original reporting, these developments were detailed by Chinese outlet ifeng (凤凰网), citing domestic and international sources. As regulators and governments worldwide scrutinize AI and talent flows in a geopolitically charged tech landscape, the loss of founding leadership at a high‑profile Musk venture is a development worth watching: can SpaceX sustain xAI’s momentum without its architects?