Senior engineers, including co-founders, exit xAI amid controversy

At least nine engineers, including two cofounders, have announced their exits from Elon Musk's AI company xAI in the past week, fueling online speculation and raising questions about stability.

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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At least nine engineers, including two co-founders, have now publicly announced their departure from xAI in the past week, though two of those exits appear to have occurred a few weeks ago. Neither xAI nor Elon Musk have publicly commented on the departures. While attrition is typical at startups, co-founder departures are far less so, with more than half of xAI's founding team now having left. Several of the departing staff members say they will be starting something new alongside other former xAI engineers.

Why it matters

The rapid pace of the recent departures has taken on a life of their own online, with users jokingly announcing they too are 'leaving xAI' despite never having worked there. Co-founder exits are harder to dismiss as routine churn, and as Musk continues to consolidate his AI ambitions, their departures raise broader questions about governance and long-term stability at xAI. In frontier AI, where talent is scarce, qualities like reputational gravity and mission clarity matter.

The details

Three of the departing staff members say they will be starting something new alongside other former xAI engineers, although no details are available about the new venture. Others hint at a desire for more autonomy and smaller teams to build frontier tech more rapidly, pointing to the anticipated surge in AI productivity. The departures come at a moment of significant controversy for xAI, which is facing regulatory scrutiny after Grok created nonconsensual explicit deepfakes of women and children, and Musk is also facing personal controversy after files published by the Justice Department show extended conversations with convicted rapist and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

  • On February 6, Ayush Jaiswal, an engineer, announced his departure from xAI.
  • On February 7, Shayan Salehian, who worked on product infrastructure and model behavior post-training, announced he left xAI to start something new.
  • On February 9, Simon Zhai, a member of the technical staff, announced his last day at xAI.
  • On February 10, several co-founders and senior engineers announced their departures from xAI, including Yuhai (Tony) Wu, Jimmy Ba, Vahid Kazemi, Hang Gao, Roland Gavrilescu, and Chance Lee.

The players

xAI

An artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk that is facing regulatory scrutiny and controversy.

Elon Musk

The CEO of xAI and founder of SpaceX, who is also facing personal controversy.

Yuhai (Tony) Wu

A co-founder and reasoning lead at xAI who announced his resignation, stating it's time for his next chapter.

Jimmy Ba

A co-founder and research/safety lead at xAI who announced his last day at the company.

Vahid Kazemi

An ML PhD who left xAI a few weeks ago, stating that all AI labs are building the same thing and it's boring.

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What they’re saying

“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.”

— Yuhai (Tony) Wu, Co-founder and reasoning lead (X)

“I left xAI to start something new, closing my 7+ year chapter working at Twitter, X, and xAI with so much gratitude.”

— Shayan Salehian, Former product infrastructure and model behavior post-training engineer (X)

“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.”

— Vahid Kazemi, Former ML PhD (X)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

This case highlights growing concerns in the community about repeat offenders released on bail, raising questions about bail reform, public safety on SF streets, and if any special laws to govern autonomous vehicles in residential and commercial areas.